Almost Perfect II
by cherrybomb13
Summary: BASED OFF OF MAPLE LEAF MISTAKE BY BOURNEBETTER67: The love of his life left him without a word. She gave him a year to get his act together. She never left his mind, he never left someone else's...
1. What Are You Doing?

"Bailey, we're home!" Petey announced coming into their house.

Four months had passed since Christmas and Bailey was now seven months pregnant. Riley raced into the kitchen.

"Mommy! You started without me!" she pouted, looking exactly like her father.

Bailey was busy adding the ingredients to the large mixing bowl, "I know I'm sorry but your brother and sister were craving these cookies."

Riley pulled the bowl to her and began stirring. It had become a ritual on the twenty-fifth of every month Bailey and Riley would bake "Aiden's Special Cookies." It helped put Riley at ease so Bailey had begun the tradition.

"So how was Daddy this weekend?" she asked.

Petey came behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder and caressed her belly.

"Good. We went to the bookstore and bought magazines and we went to where the fish are and we ate pizza, and Daddy's room smells too Mommy. He says I have to clean mine but who tells him to clean his?" Riley rambled.

Bailey's hands stilled, "What do you mean Daddy's room smells?"

Riley shrugged her small shoulders, "It smells like he needs to clean it."

Bailey thought that after Valentine's Day Alex would be okay. Then his and Riley's birthday rolled around and all of his progress got shot to hell in a hand basket when Riley and Joey received presents overnighted from France. Alex had sulked for days. He was okay if he was occupied but the second his mind had time to wander that's when he felt like he couldn't breathe and that's when Bailey worried about him the most.

"Maybe you should go check on him." Petey whispered.

"Hi guys!" Ajay called.

"Yay! A-Ten cookies!!" Joey said scrambling onto the bar stool beside Riley.

Bailey kissed Petey's cheek and grabbed her friend's hand.

"Where are we going?" Ajay asked, very confused.

"I think Alex is worse than we thought." Bailey said, "Riley told me that Daddy's room smelled."

"Oh, damn. He didn't like kill her and is like engaging in necrophilia is he?" Ajay asked.

"You can't even spell half the shit you just said, and I don't know but we're going to find out." Bailey said as she eased behind the wheel.

"I can so spell." Ajay said sticking out her tongue.

Bailey laughed. They got to Alex's house and banged on the door loudly. After fifteen minutes and still no answer Bailey pulled out her key and they let themselves in.

"ALEX SHELLEY!!!" Ajay hollered.

Still no answer.

"The downstairs is pretty clean." Bailey noted.

"He's here, his car is in the garage." Ajay informed.

They both went up the stairs to his room. They opened the door and were instantly hit with the smell of old, dirty dishes and dirty laundry. His bed was a mess, the covers thrown about and over half of the bed was covered with magazines all opened and on top of one another saving the pages. His clothes were strewn about the floor; pizza boxes were stacked with beer cans beside his bed. Ajay sat in the only clean space on the bed and looked at one of the magazines. Bailey wandered into the closet.

"Bay, look at this." Ajay said joining her in the closet.

She pointed at a picture on one of the glossy pages. The picture was of a runway show in Madrid. The models were lined up and were applauding the designer at the end of the show. Circled in the background was Aiden who was smiling brightly as she admired the garments before her.

"Look at this one." Ajay said placing another open magazine in front of her.

Aiden's name was circled at the end of a photo spread as the fashion consultant. She removed that one and put another one on top of that one. This one she was backstage at a runway show assisting a designer in sewing a model into a dress. She had a pin sticking out the corner of her mouth her brow was furrowed in concentration.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Alex asked coming into his room.

The girls screamed and dropped the magazines.

"You scared the shit out of us!" Ajay admonished, swatting at him.

"What are you doing in my house?" he reiterated.

Bailey composed herself, "Riley said that your room smelled and we got worried about you."

She looked him up and down from head to toe. He was standing in only a towel, his skin still had beads of moisture on it, his hair was wet and slicked back.

"You don't look like you've been eating and drinking nothing but pizza and beer." Bailey commented.

Alex licked his lips; "I work out a lot now. It helps me keep my head out of the clouds and off of her."

Ajay picked up the magazines, "What do these do for you?"

He snatched them from her hands, "I feel better when I know that she's okay. I can actually sleep if I see that she's doing well and that she's doing what she loves."

"You're torturing yourself. I mean look; you kept all of her clothes. Why would you do that to yourself?" Bailey asked.

"They're hers. I'm not moving them until she comes back and gets them. I can't throw them away. Just leave them alone." Alex argued.

Ajay came out of the closet and pointed at the wall underneath his flat screen that was mounted from the ceiling. There were post-it notes in neat rows with numbers scrawled across them, and a small pile of the discarded ones beneath them.

"What's that about?" she asked.

"He's counting down until she comes back." Bailey said looking back at Alex who'd defensively crossed his arms.

"Just go. I really don't want to hear your shit right now." Alex muttered.

Ajay opened her mouth to protest but Bailey shook her head to silence her. Alex was staring at the floor like it would open up at any moment and swallow him whole.

"Will you let us straighten up a little bit for you please?" Bailey asked.

He went to his drawers and pulled out some clothes.

"Whatever, but leave her clothes, the magazines, and the post-it notes alone." He said walking back to the bathroom.

"Guess I'll go get some trash bags." Ajay grinned, "Sit down somewhere, you're making me tired just looking at you."

Bailey laughed and took a seat on the bed. She picked up a stack of magazines and perused through them. She glanced at the covers and at some of the articles noticing that most of them were in foreign languages.

"Please leave those alone." Alex sighed.

She analyzed him. He was in the best shape of his life, his arms were stretching his shirt, the fabric taut across his chest and broad shoulders. He looked tired and worn though. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. He began stacking the magazines one on top of the other and put them on the floor in front of the nightstand.

"Where did you get these from? I've never seen these around here." She asked.

"I had to order them. They're French, Spanish, and Italian fashion magazines. I get them all so maybe I'll get a chance to see her or see what she's doing." He explained.

Bailey followed him with her eyes as he stood beside the bed in front of her.

"Those are all the ones she wasn't in." he said managing a half smile as he pointed to another stack against the wall.

"I'm sorry Alex." She whispered.

He sighed again, "Will you stop apologizing already? What's done is done."

She held out her arms for him to pull her up. When she was standing she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I don't know what else to say. I want you to be happy but I don't know how to accomplish that other than kidnapping her and flying her back here for you." She said.

"I'm fine, really." He mumbled

She motioned to the magazines, "No, you're not. Will you do me one huge favor, please?"

"Probably not, but go ahead." He grinned.

"Go to dinner with us tonight. No bars, no clubs, no other girls, just dinner please?" she begged folding her hands together.

Alex dropped his head, "I'm not going to be any fun. I'll just stay here and watch a movie or something."

"Come on, you gotta go." Ajay said coming into the room with an armful of cleaning supplies.

"I'll only ruin everybody's dinner by being in a bad mood." He said.

Ajay came up beside Bailey and they both poked their lips out, "Please?"

Alex smiled despite himself at their pitiful expressions.

"We'll drag you kicking and screaming if we have to." Bailey smiled, sugary sweet.

"Conscious or unconscious, it makes no difference to us." Ajay added.

Alex narrowed his eyes between the two of them, "No girls?"

They shook their heads no.

"Promise?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"Alright, I'll go." He gave in.

They both squealed and kissed his cheeks.

"Go watch TV or smoothing while we clean up." Ajay ordered pushing him out of the room.

She closed the door behind him.

"So where do we start?" Bailey asked.

"I guess we should start at ground zero and at least be able to see the floor." Ajay laughed.


	2. Pity Party

_**Thanks for the reviews for last chapter :) always appreciated!! keep reading!**_

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At dinner Alex was fading in and out of conversations occasionally looking up and smiling but then returning to his stoic demeanor.

His food came and he merely pushed it around on his plate. He limited himself to hanging out with his friends because he could only take so much of their cuteness before he wanted to barf.

He sighed deeply as Petey's hand found its way to Bailey's stomach again, and Ajay nuzzled her nose against Chris'. He pushed away from the table and went to the restaurants bar. James who had been watching Alex all night shook his head. Poor guy had it bad.

"I feel really bad for him." Chris stated.

"I know. I mean he was lonely before but now it's like its gotten worse." Petey said.

"Of course it has. He had what we had and then he lost it, that really sucks." Bailey said.

"I wish there was something we could do." Ajay frowned.

James chewed on the end of his straw thinking for a moment. He looked at both of the couples and then at Alex at the bar. He got up and sauntered to the bar sitting on the stool beside Alex.

"Patron?" James questioned pointing at the shot glass Alex was sipping on.

He nodded once.

James put up two fingers to the bartender who poured two more shots.

"We celebrating something?" James asked, his eyes sliding back to Alex.

"What's there to celebrate?" Alex laughed dryly.

James thought for a moment, "Well, you got a good healthy kid."

Alex shrugged, "To Riley then."

He raised his shot and downed it signaling the bartender for another.

"You gonna keep doing this to yourself until she comes back?" James asked.

Alex shrugged again.

"How is this helping anything?" he wondered.

"It's not. I just can't see all of them together without thinking of how that should be me too." Alex said.

"Why don't you go and see her and try to talk to her?' James asked.

"She wants her space." He replied.

"Did she say that?" James questioned.

"Well no, but she left her ring so I kind of interpreted that as _'I would like to be alone.'_"

"That just meant she didn't want to marry you. Why don't you go and see her?" he asked.

"What would I say?" Alex muttered.

"You haven't figured that out yet?" James grinned.

"She'd probably kick me out as soon as she saw me." Alex groaned.

"At least you would get to see her." James offered.

"She seems happy from the few times I've seen her in magazines. I think she's working too hard, but that's probably so she won't have to think about me and how I fucked her over." He said.

"Bailey said you ordered all these hoity toity magazines looking for her." James told him.

"I worry about her all the time. She's this sweet, semi-naïve, tiny woman a whole ocean away that is still holding my entire heart in her hands. I'm trying to be patient and give her what she needs but I really am going insane over here." Alex had spit out the words before he could stop them, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload on you."

James leaned back, a wide smile on his face, "No, no, I'm just glad you're not acting like a damn vegetable anymore. Just let it out, you keep all that shit bottled up and you're bound to go postal. Laugh, cry, punch something, wear a dress, do anything but be a vegetable."

Alex laughed, genuinely laughed for the first time in months.

Bailey hugged Alex from behind, "Did they fire Dr. Stevie and hire Dr. Stormy?"

"That might be a good idea actually." Alex grinned.

"Daddy, I need to go potty!" Riley whined pulling on his hand.

"I got this go ahead." James said.

Alex smiled gratefully as he took his daughters hand to go to the bathroom.

Bailey hit the tip of James' cowboy hat, "Whatever you said, thank you."

James paid the bar tab, "I couldn't let him sit here and have a pity party. Alex is a good guy; he doesn't need to keep beating himself up like that."

"I know but how are we going to get him to stop?" Bailey asked.

James threw back his last shot, "I think I have an idea."

"Are you going to tell me?" Bailey asked.

James shook his head, "Nope."

He paused dramatically, his eyes twinkling devilishly, "Sorry about your damn luck sweetheart."

Bailey swung at him, missing him completely as he dodged swiftly out of the way.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" she called, waddling after him.

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_**Sorry for the shortie, I kind of chopped up the next few chapters so bear with me :) Please review xoxo**_


	3. Weakness

_**Short chapters=Fast updates :) that's a positive right...right?? lol Read on lovelies**_

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Aiden sat behind her desk staring at her phone and massaging her throbbing temples. She had a pounding headache already and it was only noon. Right before she retreated to her office she swore to her assistants that she was going to change her name to something completely unpronounceable if she heard someone call her again. It seemed like every five seconds someone needed her here or there, or absolutely had to have her opinion on something or a small child would be sacrificed to the fashion gods. She loved what she did and she was damn good at it too, but it really made her want to pull her hair out sometimes.

She hit the button on her phone to make her screen light up. She had two missed calls…from Alex.

She sighed and looked up at the picture of the two of them at her parent's house sitting on the swing on the front porch. His arm was wrapped around her, his legs swinging them back and forth. She was curled up next to him. Those moments with him were some of the happiest in her life. Her eyes misted as they always did anytime she reminisced about him.

The Sundays when they would lay in bed all day making love and watching movies, the way he would caress her and kiss her, even his looks were filled with passion and possessiveness.

She had belonged to him.

He had belonged to her.

Her soul ached every time she saw his number on the caller ID. Her thumb hovered over the send button as she slowly applied pressure to call him back.

"Aiden? We need to leave if we're going to make it in time." Her assistant Chloe called.

Her phone clattered on the desk.

"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" she asked.

Aiden stared at the picture on her desk once more. That sly smirk of his made her want to undress. She flipped the picture face down, phone in hand.

She wiped her eyes and briskly walked to the door.

"Let's go. I'm ready." She smiled, turning on her southern charm.

That was her life now. She'd have her moments of weakness where she would almost break and then she would snap back to reality and the pain would threaten to eat her alive. It felt like she'd swallowed poison when she thought about what he did to her. Ninety percent of the time she forced herself to dwell on the negative so she wouldn't contact him.

Nana, in her infinite wisdom, quoted the Lady Chablis herself, "Anytime you think about calling that dumb boy you just remember, two tears in a bucket, mother fuck it."

She threw herself into her work to keep her occupied, anything to keep her mind off of _him_.

They arrived at the tents and walked in the back entrance. As soon as she stepped inside her name was called by five different people at the same time. She took a deep breath and pushed aside the thoughts of what she and Alex would be doing if she were back in Detroit.

**

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A FEW HOURS LATER

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**

Aiden was immersed up to her elbows in silk, taffeta, lace and tulle. The first and second show went off without a hitch; she was crossing her fingers that the third and final show of the night would be a hit as well.

"Those aren't the right shoes for her; he wanted the red peep toes for her. Where is that headband? I need it in my hands like yesterday, come on we're running out of time people." Aiden ordered.

She was rushing around inspecting every dress that was about to go out.

"Hand me that lint brush, how did this get past you? If Trey would have seen that he would have flipped." She scolded one of the new girls.

"Aiden, somebody's here to see you." Chloe announced.

"Somebody important? Somebody we know?" Aiden asked rolling the lint brush over the garment furiously.

"Aiden, is this okay? Does she look okay?" another coordinator asked.

She glanced up, "You can see her boobs when she walks, tape it up. There's double side over on that table near make up."

"Thanks sweetie." He said air kissing her.

"Well?" Aiden asked looking back at Chloe who was staring at her in wonder.

It was no secret that not only did she aspire to be able to do the job Aiden did, but she also had a not-so-hidden crush on her too.

"Oh, sorry, umm…he didn't say, just that he needed to speak with you." Chloe relayed.

"Tell him to get in line." She said rolling her eyes.

Chloe looked indecisive, "He's not our kind of people Ai, he's...well…he's different."

Aiden's hands stilled, "Like completely gorgeous kind of different?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes as she thought for a moment, "I mean if you like that sort of thing."

Her mouth went dry. Was _he _here? Was _he_ actually _**here**_, like right outside, mere footsteps away from her?

She hadn't prepared herself to see him yet but her feet were moving on their own.

"Where is he?" she called over her shoulder.

"Back entrance." Chloe replied.

Aiden heard several people call for her and demand to know where she was going. They were ignored as she rushed to the back entrance. Tears blurred her vision as she reached the door.

She had to feel him, she didn't care how mad she was at him anymore.

She pulled on the door and flung herself into his open arms.

"Alex." She sighed.

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_**yay...or nay?? stay tuned... hehehe!! let me know what you think so far (please and thank you!)**_


	4. Setting The Record STRAIGHT

_**Thank you for the loyal reviewers again last chapter!! you are the best!!**_

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Almost immediately she knew it wasn't him. The person's stature was entirely different.

She let him go and stared up into his ruggedly handsome face, "What are you doing here?"

He wet his lips smirking slyly, "Sorry if I disappointed you."

She shook her head cursing her stupidity and wiped away her foolish tears, "No, it's not that…I just…never mind. It's James right?"

He nodded.

"What are you doing here?" she asked again after she regained her composure.

"I came to talk to you." He answered.

"Aiden, the show is starting!" her assistant hurried.

Aiden looked back at James and snagged his hand, "You're coming with me.

"Alright." James drawled.

His long strides were casual as he was pulled behind her. Aiden zipped through the people making slight adjustments here and there until they got to the front of the line.

She kissed the designer on both of his cheeks, "You're going to be great, everything is flawless. I'm going to go to my seat okay? Did you need anything before I go?

"Yes, one of those. Who is that?" the designer asked.

"Not for sale, put your eyes back in your head Benny." She laughed dragging James with her.

They got to their seats when James finally caught on, "That guy liked me?"

Aiden smiled and nodded, "And so does that guy and that guy and that one and that one too."

James' brow furrowed, "Should I maybe fart real loud and gross them out?"

"That's like a mating call, sweetheart." She patted his knee, "There's only one thing that will fend them off."

"What is it?" he asked looking around at the ogling men, "Do these people know I fight for a living?"

Aiden placed a hand on either cheek and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him passionately, her tongue delving into his mouth.

"Grab my ass." She instructed while licking his ear lobe.

He cupped her butt pulling her to him. She continued to kiss him.

"When I pull away, stare at my boobs." She whispered trailing her lips down his neck.

She smiled coyly at him, his eyes never leaving her chest. She leaned back up and pecked him again.

"You're safe now." She smiled.

"You sure? I don't think they were entirely convinced." He breathed.

"Sorry cowboy." She giggled as the lights dimmed.

Half way through the show James was about to doze off, "They got any beer in this place?"

Aiden cut her eyes at him while furiously scribbling notes, "Shhh…no. We'll go somewhere after."

He crossed his arms over his broad chest, tilting his head back like a little kid.

After several more minutes of torture Aiden nudged him to wake up and applaud. He put his fingers in the corners of hi mouth and whistled loudly. Aiden glared at him finally smiling and shaking her head at his outburst. James held Aiden's had as she weaved around backstage. They eventually made it to a bar where James immediately ordered two drinks.

"Ok, so tell me why you came all the way here just to talk to me." Aiden began.

"You need to come home. Alex is completely depressed." He started.

Aiden narrowed her eyes, "Yeah well I know how he feels. I felt the same way when he told me he slept with Bailey." She remarked.

"Touché, but you gotta know that he's sorry." He said cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Did he send you here to talk to me?" she asked pointedly.

"No, none of them know I'm here. I swear, don't look at me like that." He answered.

"I don't get it, that's all. I mean why would you do this for him?" she questioned.

James looked into her eyes, "Because the man is suffering. I tried to talk him into coming over here himself, but he's convinced that you want your space."

"I do." She said.

"Didn't seem that way when you thought I was him." James smirked.

Aiden waved him off, "I was having a weak moment that's all that was.

He grabbed her hands and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"Don't bullshit me little girl. It was like you had come home when you ran into my arms. You still love him and you know you do." James confronted.

"I do still love him, I've barely been able to function since I've been here." She whispered angrily.

"So go back to him." James said simply.

"**_He cheated on me with his daughter's mother! How can I go back to that?!_**" she yelled.

The patrons all went silent and stared at her. She lowered her eyes, blushing furiously. James chuckled and watched her.

"Shut up!" She hissed.

"I know it's hard to do, but you really have to forgive him. Both of you are miserable and it's because you aren't together." He said.

"You barely even know me; you don't know what this is like for me." She glared at him.

"You're cute when you get mad." He smiled, "But you're right, I don't know you, I don't know what it's like for you."

She nodded her head, dignified with his answer.

He raised a finger at her, "But I do know stupidity when I see it. Both of you are in pain and neither one of you want to fix it."

"Why should I be the one to fix it? He's the one that cheated on me, not the other way around." Aiden said furiously.

"He respects you too much to go against what you asked of him. But I'm telling you right now that if you went home and gave him the chance, he would be everything you ever wanted him to be. You can make up your own mind after that." James said leaning across the table heatedly at her.

His eyes were blazing as he sat back in his chair.

"You are infuriating, you know that?" she smiled at him.

He put his hands up, "Well somebody's got to light a fire under your ass."

Aiden laughed.

"So what's it gonna be darlin?" he asked.

"I will think about it. I've still got to come to terms with some stuff, but it's a possibility." She answered.

James nodded, "Fair enough. Maybe is not a no, so I'll take that."

"How has he been doing?" she asked after much internal debate.

James shrugged, "He's hanging in there. He takes care of Riley and stays home most of the time. He doesn't like to be around 'the couples' too much, kinda upsets him."

Aiden nodded pensively.

"He's been working out a lot too. He's pretty ripped now." James added.

Aiden raised her eyebrows at him.

"Just letting you know." He grinned.

Aiden smiled as tears ran down her face, "I love him but I don't want to get hurt again."

"He's not going to make that same mistake again, I promise." James assured.

"How can I compete with Bailey though? They've been friends forever, they have Riley together too." She asked.

"Honey, it's not a competition, you've already won. Alex wants you not her. He's miserable without you not her. You're what he wants, you're crazy if you don't see that." He replied, "Come on, let's get out of here. I've got to get some sleep. I've got an early flight in the morning."

She hugged him when they stood up, "Thanks for coming here. I guess I kinda needed that talk huh?"

"I just give advice; it's up to you if you use it." James shrugged, "Hey, I think that guy over there was looking at me funny. I think maybe you should let him know that I like girls again."

Aiden rolled her eyes, "I don't think so. You're on your own on that one."

She walked in front of him to the door smiling to herself at his dilemma.

He kissed the palm of his hand and aimed it directly at her butt. The loud smack echoed across the room as did Aiden's shriek of surprise.

She turned around to glare at him, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You said that I was on my own. I improvised." He stated innocently

She continued to throw daggers at him with her eyes.

His hands found her hips as he pulled her closer to him. His hands slid around her tiny waist to cup her buttocks again.

"Should I kiss you too, or do you think they got the hint?" he laughed.

She pushed away from him, her small hands on his chest, "They got it."

"Alright then, let's go." He pursed his lips at her and held out his hand.

She took it reluctantly as a smile crept back onto her face.

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_**Hmmm...what was that little "moment" about?? let me know!! xoxo**_


	5. Unbelievable

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Sorry for the short chapter...next one will be longer I promise :)**_

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James left the next morning and predicted that within the next week she and Alex would have made up and would be back together. The week came and went and nothing had happened. The following week had the same result. Eventually a month had gone by and there was still no word form Aiden.

James was sitting in his locker room with Chris, Bobby, and Petey. They were watching the current match while he was trying to make up his mind whether or not he was going to fly back to France and drag that girl back to Detroit with him. The door slammed against the wall making everybody jump. James had looked up just in time to see a fist flying at his face. He had no time to react and fell backwards in the chair he had been balancing on two legs. Another fist caught him in the gut making him lose his breath. Whoever was attacking him got in a few more punches before he was pulled off of James.

"Are you okay?" Bobby asked his tag team partner.

"What the fuck?" James groaned flexing his sore jaw.

He looked up and saw Alex struggling against Petey and Chris.

"Calm down! What the hell is this about?" Petey asked.

Alex threw a magazine at James' feet. "You mind explaining that to me you son of a bitch!"

James brow furrowed as he picked up the magazine. He flipped to the dog eared pages and froze. Circled were several sequence shots of the runway show he and Aiden were at. He chewed on his lip as he saw the last one of him and Aiden making out.

He looked up at Alex, "Look, I can explain."

"FUCK YOU JAMES!! You sit there and spoon feed me all of that shit at the bar and then go to fucking France to make out with my girl!? You're unfuckingbelievable right now!" Alex yelled, barely being held back by Petey and Chris.

"You're getting mad about nothing." James said coolly as he stood up.

Alex broke free from his friends grasp and speared James to the floor again. They were scrapping on the ground for several moments before the other men could separate them.

"I trusted you! I poured my heart out to you about her." Alex shouted as he strained against Petey and Chris.

"I WENT THERE FOR YOU! I thought I had talked her into coming back to you." James yelled back.

"What and now she changed her mind because she hooked up with you? Because if you haven't noticed she's not fucking here James!" Alex said his face red with fury.

"What the hell is going on here?" Bailey asked when she came into the room

"We could hear you all the way down the hall." Ajay said looking between James and Alex.

"Your boy here took his redneck ass to France and hooked up with Aiden." Alex relayed motioning to the magazine on the floor.

Ajay picked it up and looked at the pictures with Bailey. They then turned to look at James with shocked expressions on their faces.

"It's not like that, there were these dudes trying to hit on me." He said.

"What?" Alex asked confused.

James exhaled his frustration, "I went to the fashion, model, show whatever thing she was at and all these guys were looking all Brokeback at me so she kissed me to show them I was straight, that's it."

"Aww…that's kind of funny actually." Ajay laughed.

Everybody else burst into laughter except Alex and James who were staring across the room at each other.

"When I got there she came running into my arms and said your name. She thought I was you, or had hoped that I was you. She cried when she realized it was just me." James said quietly.

Alex looked indecisive, "Then why hasn't she come back?"

"I don't know, but you've got to go to her if she won't come here. She's just as miserable as you are." He said.

Alex was motionless staring into space as he tried to make up his mind.

"What are you going to do?" Chris asked.

"Guess I got a flight to catch." Alex said as a small smile appeared on his face.

Bailey was not prepared for the small twinge of jealously that pricked her when he spoke. She had all but buried her hatred for Aiden, so why was it resurfacing now after months of waiting and wanting her to come back?

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_**Also sorry for any typos...I've got to cook for the other side of the family and had no time to proof read!! AAHHH!! Please review...thanks!! xoxo**_


	6. Paris

_**Yay!! So had a fun day talking with Kennedy :) she's a riot!! **_

_**thanks to reaper07, kennedy, bournebetter67, and pennie for reviewing, much love!!**_

_**BTW: i've never been to Paris, would love to go, but have never been, so just keep that in mind if something seems wrong...my bad :)**_

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Aiden was laying in her bed on a bright sunny Sunday morning. She had her arm outstretched to the cold side of the bed running her fingers up and down the soft sheets. The sun spilled through the open doors to her balcony. Sundays were the worst. They were her only day off and as it so happened those were the days where she thought of home. She thought of how perfect this morning was but how it brought her no joy because _he_ wasn't there. She couldn't rest her head on his chest or kiss him until her stomach filled with butterflies. She was alone and it was her own choice.

She'd given her and James' conversation much thought but she just couldn't bring herself to leave her job and stick her neck out again for him to possibly send her to the guillotine. No, she would do as she'd planned and finish her year in France and see what came her way.

She brought her fingertips to her lips and pressed them back into the cold side of the bed. She sighed and forced herself to get out of bed. She went thought her normal Sunday routine and fixed herself breakfast and lounged around until the afternoon watching TV and looking through magazines.

She then got dressed in a one shouldered purple sundress to walk around Paris. There was always something to do or see. She would go to the park and watch the families play and run around, she would go to the market and sample different cheeses, crepes, and coffee, she would walk the streets admiring the architecture, but she always ended her trip the same way.

She would wait until dark when the city was all lit up and would pay off the guard at the Eiffel tower so she could go up and look out over all of Paris. She would sit up there for hours some nights just watching the hustle and bustle beneath her. Tonight felt different for some reason. She could feel the electricity in the air. The sun had just set leaving behind warm air that breezed around her.

"Bonjour mademoiselle." The guard greeted.

"Bonjour monsieur." She smiled despite her mood and boarded the elevator to the top.

The doors opened to the platform and she stepped off and found her usual spot. She sighed sadly and tried to enjoy the scenery. Usually she could occupy her mind by focusing on the objects below but tonight was different. All she could think about was the conversation she'd had with James. She was surprised he hadn't called or shown up again when she hadn't come back.

A flash of lightening far off in the countryside caught her eye. The warm air whipped around her again as her thoughts drifted to Riley. She wondered how many times it had stormed there and how many times she'd made a tent for refuge. She missed Riley almost as much as she missed Alex.

"Aiden."

She laughed at herself, now she was imagining hearing his voice. She was officially loco now.

"Why won't you just get out of my head?" she asked aloud staring at the twinkling lights.

"Aiden."

She sat up this time, his voice was louder more pronounced. She turned around to look behind her and almost fainted. _**HE**_ was standing a few feet away from her in blue jeans and a white button up with the sleeves rolled up. He was holding a bouquet of calla lilies, her favorite flower; a nervous expression on his face.

"What…how…" she stammered.

He smiled, "I had to pay the guy double what you did before he would let me up here to see you."

Her eyes were glistening, "What are you doing here Alex?"

"You promised you would talk to me remember?" he asked.

"I couldn't do it." She answered.

"Why?" he wondered.

She sighed, "I had already taken this job, and I didn't want to tell you."

"When did you make that decision?" he pressed.

She shrugged her slim shoulders a gust of wind blowing her blonde hair around, "Does it matter?"

He was silent as he waited, indicating that it did.

"After you told me you slept with Bailey. I had turned it down earlier." She said.

He nodded, "I've thought and thought about all the ways I could tell you I was sorry but nothing was good enough. I've never regretted anything more in my entire life. I can't tell you how sorry I am that I hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me Alex, you _killed_ me. As soon as I knew you slept with her a part of me died." She cried.

"If I could take it back I swear I would. I just thought that…" he said before she cut him off.

Aiden shut her eyes furiously, "No Alex! You didn't think! You should have known I would never do that to you. I would never disrespect you like that. All you had to do was take a moment, one second to realize that, but you didn't. How am I supposed to trust you? Every time you're with Bailey I'll always have doubts about what you're doing."

"I will never, ever give you any reason to doubt me again. I swear to you. Tell me what I have to do to make you believe me." He begged.

"I can't just think of a list of things for you to do Alex." She mumbled.

"I can't go back home without you. There's nothing there without you." He said.

"I can't leave my job. I mean, I have obligations I have to finish here." She told him.

"I can't be without you anymore." He stated closing the distance between them.

"I'm sorry. I just don't know." She sniffed lowering her head.

"What don't you know? You don't know if you can trust me?' he wondered.

She nodded slowly.

He tilted her chin up to look at him, "You are the only woman in my life. You and my daughter. All I can do is show you if you'll let me."

His hands moved from her shoulders to her face cupping it gently.

His lips pecked hers softly, "Please forgive me Aiden."

She trembled with desire for him, "Alex, if you ever cheat on me again…"

He captured her mouth with his passionately.

When he pulled away he gasped, "You will never have anything to worry about."

She smiled, praying that he would be true to his word.

To her surprise he knelt down on one knee and pulled a silver chain from around his neck. On it was her engagement ring she'd left behind. He took the chain off and removed the ring.

"Marry me Aiden, please." He asked looking up at her.

His hand was shaking with nerves as he held her ring out to her.

Tears fell down her face, "This is crazy."

He was not deterred, "It's only crazy if you say no. This is our fate, our destiny. You are the person I'm supposed to be with." He stated.

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered.

His eyes lowered as he thought, "I want to be honest with you, I've broken up with lots of girls and every single time I broke up I always rebounded. I always hooked up with the first girl I saw without a second thought. When you left, hooking up and finding a replacement was the furthest thing from my mind."

"You didn't hook up with anybody since I've been gone?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Only Hand-gela and Palm-ela."

She laughed at his joke, a brightness emanating from her.

He pointed at her, "That's how I know. I can't live without that. I wasn't living while you were gone, I only existed."

"Alex…" she cried.

He took a deep breath, "Are you going to stop scaring me and marry me already?"

She giggled as she nodded. He put her ring back on her finger and picked her up in the air, spinning her around in his exhalation.

He sat her down on a ledge as he pressed his forehead to hers, "I was crazy without you, do you know that?"

"So was I." she replied nuzzling into his neck.

His fingertips were ghosting a trail up her calves to her knees then to her thighs.

"Alex!" she squeaked when she felt his hands pulling on her underwear.

"Shhh…" he hushed as he reached for his belt.

"Alex, we can't do that here." She protested.

"Why not?" he grinned.

"Because of where we are." She said gesturing at their surroundings.

He grabbed the backs of her knees and pulled her closer to the ledge.

She was looking around nervously, "No."

Fine, if he had to fight dirty to persuade her then so be it.

His lips caught her sensitive spot on her neck. The spot that always sent shivers up and down her spine. He sucked and teased as his fingers entered her core. She whimpered, her resolve fading fast under his manipulation. He stroked himself as his thumb massaged her clit.

"Hmm…" she moaned, her fingers gripping his shoulders.

He kissed her chin as he positioned himself. His mouth moved to hers as he entered her. Their eyes locked when he hit her center.

"Aiden." He groaned.

Her wet heat surrounded him in the most delicious way. She bit her lip and crossed her arms behind his neck. A low growl escaped his throat when he began moving inside of her. His hands held her hips as he ground against her. She whimpered in his ear at the friction his pace was creating. Before long they were climaxing together. Alex held her tightly against him as he emptied into her. Her legs slowly untangled themselves from around his back.

"Oh, I missed that too by the way." He panted as he zipped his pants back up.

"Just a little bit though right?" she laughed, pulling her dress back down.

"Yeah, sure." He smirked sarcastically.

She hopped off the ledge, her legs giving out when she landed.

He quickly caught her in his arms, "You okay?"

She nodded, "I haven't done that since the last time we were together."

"I love you so much." He said staring into her eyes.

"I love you too." She replied.

"What?" she laughed when she noticed he was still staring at her.

"I want to marry you now." He said.

"Like right now?" she laughed thinking he was just saying things."

"No, I'm serious, like right now. Let's get married tonight." His face lit up excitedly.

"We can't tonight. What's the hurry?" she asked.

He kissed the backs of both of her hands, "I just want to be with you, I want to make it official. I can't wait any longer."

"I want to marry you too but I don't know anywhere we could go or if it would even be legal in the states. There are just a lot of variables to deal with." She said pulling him into her embrace.

She caught the sadness that was creeping across his face.

"Do you care if we don't have a big giant wedding?" Alex whispered, his hands running softly up and down her spine.

"I don't care. I never wanted anything fancy." She sighed.

"What about Vegas?" he suggested, "I'll fly home and make arrangements and pick up Riley and we can meet you there, or you could just go with me."

She smiled at his eagerness. The thrill of marrying Alex finally caught up to her and she shivered through her emotion. A long jagged flash of lightening lit up the sky.

She leaned back to look in his eyes, "Vegas it is. I'll meet you and Riley there."

He was beaming at her, "When?"

"Next Sunday?" she asked.

"Perfect, that sounds perfect." He was so excited it made her laugh.

"I did not expect my day to go like this." She giggled.

He kissed her neck while he wrapped his arms around her protectively, "You had no idea that I was coming here and was going to propose to you again?"

She could feel him smiling, "No, not at all."

Another flash of lightening lit up the sky.

"We better go before we get caught in the rain." Alex urged picking her up and walking to the elevator.

* * *

They made it the steps of Aiden's apartment just as it began to rain. Aiden screamed playfully as she ran under the awning. Alex let go of her hand as he stood on the sidewalk.

"What are you doing? Come on!" she called.

"Come here. I've always wanted to do this." He said.

She scrunched her nose and tentatively stepped back into the pouring rain. When she reached him her dress was clinging to her as she looked up at him. His hand found the small of her back as he pulled her to him. His other cupped her jaw as his lips pressed into hers. He kissed her like he was never going to get the chance to do so gain. She flushed despite the cool rain that was drenching them. He pulled away from her smiling as he looked at her pink cheeks.

"I always see people kissing in the rain in the movies and I wanted to know what all the hype was about." He said.

She pulled him up the stairs in haste. She had never wanted him more than she did right then.

**

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING

* * *

**

Aiden sighed sleepily as she began to wake up. She felt beside her as she remembered the night before and that she'd made up with Alex…finally. Her hand fumbled around until she reached the other side of the bed. Her eyes shot open when she didn't feel him.

"Good morning beautiful." She heard him whisper.

She sat up holding the sheet around her.

"I thought you left." She sighed as she fell back onto the pillows.

He appeared above her, his arms holding him up on either side of her.

He kissed her nose and chuckled, "I just went to get you some breakfast."

"Yumm, what did you get?" she smiled.

"I have no clue. I was the biggest dumb ass, I just pointed at some stuff on the menu." He admitted sitting beside her with the bags of food.

She pulled apart pieces of bread and spread some preserves on it. They ate in happy silence for a few moments.

"I was worried about you living over here by yourself." Alex said quietly.

"Why?" she asked sipping on her coffee.

He shrugged, "I just was. Anything could have happened to you and I would have never known and that scared me."

She lay against his chest, "I'm twenty two years old Alex, I can take care of myself. You didn't need to worry about me."

"Well I did." He retorted, "I don't know how I'm going to be able to leave this afternoon."

"You've got to get everything ready for our wedding." She laughed, "Isn't that funny to say?"

He smiled at her quirkiness, "I guess that will motivate me. Only six more days until you're Mrs. Patrick 'Alex Shelley' Martin."

She kissed his chest, "Are you going to tell Bailey and the rest of them?

Alex thought for a moment, "No. I don't want any stress, because the girls will have to find dresses and blah blah blah... I don't want anybody there but you, me, and Riley."

"Do you think that Riley will be able to keep it a secret?" she wondered.

"Let's hope so." Alex muttered.

* * *

_**Seems like a good plan right...guess we'll see :) please review :) thanks xoxo**_


	7. Vegas

_**Thanks for all the reviews!! Ya'll are awesome!! In a rush...sorry for any typos, **_

* * *

"ALEX!!" Bailey and Ajay screamed when he walked into the locker room.

Bailey punched him in the arm, "Where have you been at? We've been worried sick!"

Ajay punched him in the other arm, "You've been home for two days and haven't answered anyone's phone calls!"

Alex grinned mischievously as he walked past them to sit his bag down on the bench.

"Oh you are so about to get attacked." Chris mumbled.

"Well how did it go? Are you back together? Where is she? Did you talk to her?" The girls alternated asking questions.

"Well he's smiling so it must be good news." Petey noticed.

"Yes, I saw her and yes we talked. She is still in France, she's got a contract to finish and we'll see what happens then." Alex answered smoothly.

"So you're not back together?" Ajay asked concern on her face.

He smiled and shrugged.

"Are you okay? She couldn't get out of her contract?' Bailey questioned putting a hand on his shoulder.

"She is enjoying herself there. She's doing what she loves; I couldn't ask her to leave all of that for me, especially after all that's happened. She's going to visit when she can, that's go to be good enough for now." He answered his smile still intact.  
"You hooked up with her didn't you?" James asked his laugh booming in the room.

Alex laughed and ducked his head.

"So you fucked her and then left?" Bailey asked her eyes bugging out at him.

"No, we talked and THEN we had sex…at the top of the Eiffel tower…and then twice back at her apartment."

Chris, Petey, and James all rushed to Alex congratulating him and clapping him on the back until they saw the look on the girls faces.

"Shame, shame, we know you're name…" Petey shook his head disapprovingly.

"That's awful that you had sex with your fine ass girlfriend in the Eiffel tower. I would HATE to be you." James added before they all three busted into laughter.

"That's real good Alex. You remember that's how Riley got here right? One night stands aren't all fun and games."

"Chill out, it's not that big of a deal." Alex said going to the bathroom to change.

Bailey stared after him shaking her head.

"Aww, come on honey lighten up on him. He just got laid for the first time in months!" Petey said kissing her cheek.

"What's he going to do if history repeats itself?" Bailey worried.  
"It might not be a bad thing. Aiden would have to be around him then, and they may work things through." Chris said holding Ajay against him.

Bailey shrugged, "I'm going to go get Riley, I'll be back."

**

* * *

SATURDAY NIGHT

* * *

**

"Alex, are you sure you don't want to come?" Bailey asked for the hundredth time.

"No, go ahead. It's almost Riley's bedtime and I've got a busy day planned for us tomorrow." Alex said rubbing Riley's back.

"Okay, well have fun and call me. I love you bug-a-boo." Bailey whispered kissing Riley's cheek.

"Love you too." Alex joked as he waved to Petey who was waiting in his car.

Alex shut the door and Riley sprang to life.

"Did I do a good job daddy?" she asked.

"You were perfect! You are the best kid in the whole world for being daddy's secret keeper." Alex finally breathed now that the hard part was over with.

"And A-Tens!!" she added.

"Yeah, and Aiden's." his breath hitched when he said her name.

In only a few short hours she was going to be his. For the first time in his life he was sure of what he was doing. He knew that marrying Aiden was the best thing for his and Riley's future.

**

* * *

VEGAS

* * *

**

"Daddy, where's A-Ten?" Riley yawned.

They had caught the red eye out of Detroit and had landed a few hours ago. Riley was still trying to wake up.

"She should be here any minute." Alex said, looking up and down the street again.

He'd told her all of the information over the phone. Where they were staying, where the chapel was etcetera.

"Hey handsome." Aiden greeted coming up behind him.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she finally showed up.

"Hey beautiful." He smiled hugging her tightly.

Riley pushed them apart and held her arms up for Aiden to pick her up.

The little girl squeezed Aiden's neck tightly.

"I love you A-Ten." She whispered.

"I love you too sweet Riley." Aiden replied.

"You haven't changed your mind have you?" Alex asked.

She shook her head, "No, I can't wait!"

"Let's go get changed then." Alex urged pulling her into the lavish hotel.

* * *

An hour later they were riding in the limo to the chapel.

"I'm so excited." Alex said kissing Aiden's nose gently.

Aiden who had been smoothing a sleeping Riley's hair down smiled at him, "Me too."

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I'd be more nervous if I were in front of a bunch of people."

He laughed under his breath, "It's so funny how different we are about certain things. I love the spotlight and you run from it. I'm loud and you're quiet."

"I think we complement each other very well, and I would know too." She laughed.

His face grew dark as he looked out the window at the scenery passing by, "I want to have a clean slate with you before we get married. I probably shouldn't be telling you this now but I've been married before."

He heard her swallow as he squeezed her hand tightly.

"It wasn't one of my finer moments. It was before Riley was born, I had gotten drunk and this girl seduced me and took me to a drive thru chapel while I was passed out and married me. We got divorced like two weeks later." He explained.

Aiden was silent as she looked down at Riley who was asleep in her lap. Alex watched her for several moments. He was terrified that he'd just crossed the invincible line where she had had enough of him and his baggage.

"Please say something." He whispered.

Her face broke into a smile, "I don't care."

"What?" he asked.

"It's in our past and I don't care. All that concerns me is your future with me and Riley, anything else doesn't matter." She stated.

He breathed a sigh of relief, "I have no idea what I did to deserve you. You are more than I could ever have asked for."

The car came to a stop.

"Is there anything else I should know about before we get out of this car/" Aiden questioned.

"No. Only that I love you and I'm about to be the happiest man on the face of the earth." He answered.

She nodded as she stirred Riley, "Come on honey, we're here."

Aiden slid out of the seat as Riley slowly crawled out behind her. Alex picked her up as she rested her head on his shoulder and fell back asleep.

"Looks like our flower girl is out of commission." Alex joked opening the door for Aiden.

They went to the front desk and signed all of the necessary documents and then were separated for the ceremony. Alex waited at the front of the chapel with Riley still in his arms. The minister suggested that he lay her down on one of the pews facing the podium. Alex gently laid his daughter down and covered her with his jacket. He kissed her cheek before taking his place beside the minister again. He adjusted his white shirt and black pants when the organ began to play announcing that Aiden would be coming down the aisle.

The minister's wife walked down the aisle first and sat on the front row to serve as a witness. When Aiden turned the corner Alex lost his breath. He was a combination of ecstatic and scared shitless when he laid eyes on her. He began doubting himself immediately. Would he be the man of her dreams? Would he be able to provide for her and Riley, would h be able to protect her and keep her safe and happy?

She smiled at him nervously. She was the most beautiful he'd ever seen her. She had picked out a white corset style dress that flared out into a ballerina type skirt that fell right above her knees. A black satin ribbon cinched her waist and flowed to the floor behind her. Her veil covered her face, but he could tell she was on the verge of tears. He finally remembered to breathe when she made it to the front of the chapel and he lifted her veil. He smiled down at her as he wiggled her arms to loosen her up. She laughed as they both turned to the minister.

"Are the two of you ready to be joined in holy matrimony?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"Then let's proceed. You chose to keep it short and simple correct?"

They nodded again.

The minister smiled, "Nothing like young love. Okay, Patrick Martin do you take Aiden Carlton to be your wife?"

"I do." He smiled.

"Aiden Carlton do you take Patrick Martin to be your husband?"

"I do." She cried softly.

"Would either of you like to add anything?" the minister paused looking between them.

Alex looked down at Aiden, "I haven't been the best guy in the world. I've done a lot of things that have hurt a lot of people, most importantly you. From here on out, the very second we are officially married; I swear to you that you will have nothing to worry about. That guy that I was will vanish, he'll never be heard from again. I will be yours completely until the day that I die, hopefully that will be awhile. I love you with everything that I am and everything that I will be from now until forever."

Then minister raised his eyebrows impressed by Alex's words, "Didn't know you had that in you. Anything you'd like to add young lady?"

Aiden laughed as tears fell down her face, "I'm not sure if I can top that but here it goes. When you first bumped into me at the coffee house that day I honestly had no idea who you were. I had no idea what an amazing, selfless, loyal, loving person you were. I had no idea how caring and courageous you were, or what a dedicated father you were. I had no idea that you knew how to spot a fake Rolex or how to make the perfect Appletini, or that we would end up sharing hair products and concealer. I had no idea how deeply in love with you I would fall and how my life wouldn't be complete if you and Riley weren't in it. So thank you for spilling coffee on and ruining my suede Chanel boots. I can honestly say that you are the best accident that's ever happened to me."

The minister laughed, "I've never heard vows like that; those were definitely a first. And your hair does look great by the way."

"Thanks." Alex grinned.

"Ok well if there's nothing further by the state of Nevada I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." The minister announced.

Alex put his hands on her waist and lifted her up to eye level to kiss her.

They kissed passionately until the minister coughed and mumbled, "Your daughter is waking up."

Alex put Aiden back on the floor. Riley trudged over to Aiden and buried her face in her long ribbon.

"What's wrong baby?" Alex asked kneeling down in front of the little girl.

"I didn't get to fro the flowers." She whined.

"You can still throw them Riley, it's not too late." Aiden encouraged, "Do you want to throw them on me and daddy to celebrate?"

Her eyes sparkled as Aiden felt her nod. Riley went and picked up her basket from the ministers wife and began throwing flowers and dancing around them.

When she ran out Alex scooped her up, "Are you excited that you, me and Aiden are a family now?"

She ducked her head into his neck and nodded.

* * *

They took several pictures next door and went to lunch before returning to the hotel. They took Riley swimming and gave her a bath before she passed out. The newlyweds tucked her in and were relaxing together in the oversized bathtub in their suite. Alex was holding their hands out admiring their rings.

"Can you believe we're married?" She asked, her head reclined on his shoulder.

"It hasn't sunk in yet for me at all." Alex said.

"We're stuck with each other now." She said.

"Poor me…I'm kidding! I'm kidding!!" he exclaimed when she glared at him, "You definitely got the short end of the stick on that one."

Her hand found his erection beneath the water as she sang, "I don't think so."

A half hour later they emerged from the bathroom wrapped in plush robes. Alex checked on Riley as Aiden was applying lotion to herself.

"Hey Lex, you're phone is charged." She called as she turned it on, "And you have fifteen missed calls."

He looked confused as he came up behind her. He dialed his voice mail.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed.

"What?" she mouthed.

"I think we're busted." He stated looking down at her fearfully.

* * *

_**Dee said it best... ALEX=DEAD**_


	8. Regrets

_**Thank you again for reviewing you are AWESOME!! **_

_**Kennedy's Friday Night Delight and I are working on a little something that is turning out to be pretty funny!! **_

_**Its called "Ajay and Aiden's Awesome Adventures" Check it out on her site :)**_

_**Read on lovelies!!  
**_

* * *

"What do you mean?' Aiden asked.

"Bailey went into labor and wants to know why the hell I'm not there with Riley yet. I am so screwed." He moaned.

Aiden grabbed her phone, "I'll get you two tickets on the first flight out of here.

Alex took her phone, "What about you? We're supposed to be celebrating."

"Alex, if we don't want anyone to know yet you and Riley have to go."

"I'm not going to start our marriage off by running to Bailey on our honeymoon." He argued.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "She is in labor with twins, Riley's brother and sister, that's important. I'm not mad; I want you to go, okay?"

"You promise?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Okay." He agreed handing her phone back.

"What are you going to do?" he asked while pulling on his clothes.

She sighed, "I've got to go to Tokyo for that photo shoot."

Alex hesitated, "This sucks already. How am I supposed to be your husband thousands of miles away?"

"I'll make you a deal, if you and Riley make it back in time before the babies are born, I'll come to your next show and see you, deal?" she asked.

"You'll come to the next taping and watch me wrestle?" he questioned skeptically.

She'd never watched him in the ring before. She nodded.

"Alright." He gave in, "And you have to call me everyday too."

"Okay." She agreed.

When he finished packing and re-dressing Riley, Aiden walked them to the door.

Alex growled, "This is killing me to just leave you."

She stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss, "I know. It hurts me too, baby."

He stared into her eyes, "Promise me Aiden that you'll be careful."

"I promise." She said looking down at his finger.

She reached down and took his ring off and went back to the night stand where his chain was.

She came back with her ring on the chain and clasped it around his neck, "You wear mine and I'll wear yours, that way we're sort of together."

She smiled as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I can't do this babe, I can't leave you." He whispered.

She kissed him again and then Riley, "Yes you can, you have to. Call me when you land."

"I love you." He said his eyes full of moisture.

Her stomach twisted at his emotion, "I love you too."

He turned and went down the hall as she watched him wait for the elevator. When the door rang and opened he looked back at her and blew her a kiss before he stepped on and out of sight.

She reached out and grabbed the imaginary kiss and put it to her lips. She padded back into the room and locked the door behind her. The tears spilled as she put his ring on a necklace and put it around her neck.

She went out to the balcony and took a seat in one of the lounge chairs and pulled her knees up to her chest that felt like it was missing a huge chunk. As much as she had protested him staying, she was regretting that decision already.

Her first night being married to the man she loves and she's spending it alone. She rested her head back and stared up at the full moon and began the heartbreaking task of counting down until she was reunited with her husband.

**

* * *

DETROIT

* * *

**

"Where the hell is that son of a bitch with my daughter?" Bailey groaned.

"He's not answering his phone like a dickhead." Ajay told her.

Bailey began crying again, "I want Riley here."

Ajay hit re-dial on her phone for the millionth time.

Straight to voicemail.

"Hey ASSHOLE!! Answer your damn phone because if you don't call me back in the next five minutes I will shove it up your ass the next time I see you." She left a voicemail and snapped her phone shut.

"I'm going to kill him." Bailey wailed.

"I'm going to kill him for you." Ajay smirked.

Poor Bailey had been having contractions for the last nine hours and was still no where near giving birth. Petey stood by her side cringing when she gripped his hand as a contraction seized her. Bailey gritted her teeth and held her breath until the contraction passed.

She grabbed Petey's shirt, "Find someone right now and tell them I need drugs!"

He nodded quickly as he rushed out of the room.

Ajay and Chris smirked covertly at each other; they couldn't believe how well he was holding up.

"Do you have any idea where your boy is?" Ajay asked.

Chris shook his head innocently, "No clue."

Ajay rolled her eyes, "He's going to get it when he finally shows up!"

**

* * *

TWO HOURS LATER

* * *

**

Bailey had been given her epidural and was resting comfortably much to the relief of everybody. She had really started freaking out an hour ago. The doctor was going to start a Pitocin drip in the next half hour to really get the ball rolling.

Ajay's thumb was sore from hitting re-dial so many times. Everybody was worn out and exhausted as the morning sun was peeking over the clouds. They had not slept at all and were running on fumes. Chris and Joey were asleep in the recliner. Petey was resting on his folded arms on the side of Bailey's bed. Ajay was tapping her phone impatiently.

"Mommy!" Riley squealed, waking everybody up.

She came running into the room and into Petey's arms. Alex walked in behind her carrying a flower arrangement with a pink and blue ribbon.

"You haven't pushed those kids out yet?" he grinned.

Everybody glared at him.

"Alex darling, I need to speak with you out in the hall please." Ajay smiled sweetly, the venom seeping through her politeness.

Alex shook his head knowing what that meant, "Hell no."

Ajay grabbed his hand and twisted it painfully as she whispered into his ear, "Do you want me to kick your ass in front of your daughter?"

"We'll be right back." He groaned.

Once they were out in the hall Ajay let him go.

"Oww!! What is your problem?" Alex whispered angrily.

She was silent as she patted him down.

When she felt his cell phone she snatched it out of his pocket, "I have called you forty-five thousand times and you have the balls to walk into the room like nothing is wrong. Where the hell have you been?"

"We were asleep. I cut my phone off, what's the big deal? She hasn't had the babies yet?" he countered.

"You AND Riley have been asleep for eleven hours?" Ajay asked skeptically.

Alex ran his tongue across his teeth as he thought of his answer, "No, my phone died and I was charging it."

"Did your house phone die too Alex because I called there too." Ajay asked.

He swallowed trying to maintain his cool, "I guess I didn't hear it."

Ajay narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't know what you were doing, but believe me when I say I'm going to find out. Don't think that you're off the hook, because you aren't, not by a long shot."

She punched him in the stomach before she went back inside. He doubled over coughing several times before he came back in the room. He dropped in the chair next to Chris.

"Your girlfriend is a bitch!" Alex muttered.

Chris shook his head, "Where were you?"

"I was at home asleep." Alex answered.

Chris rolled hi eyes, "Yeah right, you know what, I don't even want to know that way Ajay won't kill me."

* * *

Bailey went into actual labor an hour later and gave birth to Petey's son Jayden and his daughter Ajay Marie.

"Look, there they are!" Ajay cooed looking into the nursery, "They are so adorable."

Chris held her tight, he knew if it was hard on him to see the babies it was killing Ajay. They'd suffered through two miscarriages already together. They both wanted nothing more than for Joey to have a sibling.

Petey was beaming into the room at his new children. He was so emotional he was speechless. Becoming a father had always been his dream. He looked beside him at Alex who was staring at the infants longingly.

"You okay?" Petey asked.

Alex looked at him quickly and then averted his eyes, "Yeah, congratulations they're really cute babies."

"What's wrong?" he pressed.

Alex shrugged, "Guess I'm kinda wishing I was there when Riley was born that's all."

Petey watched his friend put on a fake smile.

"Don't worry about it. I don't want to put a downer on you. You're lucky and enjoy it okay?" Alex said as he walked off down the hall.

When he got to the crowded cafeteria he grabbed some juice and found a table. He pulled out his phone to call Aiden.

"Hello?" she answered sleepily.

He glanced at his watch, "I'm sorry babe, I forgot about the time difference, call me back when you wake up."

"No, no, it's okay. I want to talk to you." She yawned, "Did you and Riley make it in time?"

"Yeah, she just had the twins about an hour ago." He said.

"Are you okay? You sound upset." She asked sounding concerned.

He was silent.

"Alex?" she called.

"I was just thinking about how much I missed out with Riley and it was getting to me seeing Petey with the babies all proud and shit." He pouted.

"Honey, maybe one day we'll have our own, and then you won't miss out on anything. Don't be upset okay, it makes me sad." She sympathized.

He felt her ring through his shirt, "I wish you were here."

He heard her take a deep breath, "I wish I was too. I missed you this morning."

"Tell me about it. Are you going to fly down to see me at the show?" he asked.

He could tell she was smiling, "Of course. I guess I better get ready to leave. Call me later okay? I love you more than a million red gummy bears."

He laughed, "I love you more than an X Division title shot. Be careful crazy girl."

He hung up the phone feeling his heart ache for her. Alex walked back to Bailey's room. Petey was passed out on the couch.

She looked up and smiled at him, "You better be glad I have him in my arms or I would strangle you for almost missing this."

Alex sat in the bed beside her, "You wouldn't dare, you love me too much."

He peered down at her son who was breastfeeding eagerly.

"Is this what it was like when you had Riley?" he asked softly.

She wet her lips, "Yeah, she was a little bigger than them though. She had a lot more hair too."

Alex gently ran a hand over the crown of Jayden's head.

"Do you mind if I hold her?" he asked pointing at Ajay Marie in the bassinet.

Bailey shook her head, "Hold her head when you pick her up."

The infant barely stirred as she continued sleeping. Bailey watched him with tears in her eyes. She had always regretted robbing Alex of moments like these, even more so now as she watched him with the newborn.

Alex smiled at her, "She's so tiny. I never imagined that Riley was this small once."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her." she whispered as the tears fell down her face.

Alex shook his head, "I know now, that's all that matters. I'll get a chance like this someday."

She smiled, "I hope so, you're a natural."

Ajay Marie clasped her tiny hand around Alex's finger, "It's so cool to see them when they're like this."

Bailey sniffed back her tears as she looked down at Jayden, "Okay, he's done. Did you want to take him and let me have her?"

"Sure." He said.

She pulled the fast asleep Jayden away from her and covered up one side and uncovered the other. They switched babies as Bailey held Ajay Marie to her chest.

Alex watched in awe and amazement, "Does it hurt?"

She laughed, "Not really. It does feel weird though."

Alex shook his head again, "I'm glad guys don't have to do all of this."

"Yeah, I can't really see you breastfeeding anything." She joked.

Alex placed Jayden in his bassinet, "I'm going to go look for Riley. I just wanted to tell you that I'm really happy for you. You and Petey deserve the best of everything and you're going to be great parents."

"Thank you Lex, where did that come from?" she questioned.

Alex shrugged, even though he knew exactly where it came from.

He had finally gotten over Bailey. He could finally let her go and let her live a happy life with Petey and not feel one shred of doubt that he wasn't good enough for her. He used to imagine all the time what it would have been like if she had told him about Riley in the beginning. He could see them living together and being a family and raising their children together. Every time he pictured it now all he could see was Aiden and their life together. He finally realized how perfectly everything had worked out. Bailey and Petey were meant for each other the same way he and Aiden were.

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, "I love you Bay, and if you ever need anything all you have to do is call."

He smiled at her through the window of the door as he left. More tears filled her eyes when he disappeared.

When the hell did Alex Shelley grow up and say things like that?

* * *

_**How long are Alex and Aiden going to be able to keep their secret...stay tuned...xoxo**_


	9. Meeting Mollie

_**CHECK OUT AJAY AND AIDEN'S AWESOME ADVENTURES OVER ON KENNEDY'S FRIDAY NIGHT DELIGHT'S PAGE!!! IT'S A TRIP!!**_

_**Mollie belongs to World's Biggest Jericoholic**_ **_(thanks again for letting me use her) Please read and enjoy :) drama llama was acting up...you'll see_**

* * *

Alex, Chris, and Ajay arrived at the arena like they normally did and checked in with creative to see what they would be involved in for that night. Alex was bouncing around like he'd stolen one of Ajay's Red Bulls. Finally Ajay had had enough.

"If you don't stop bouncing around I'm going to beat you unconscious." She threatened.

Alex rolled his eyes but his smiled never disappeared from his face.

"I'm excited." He said dropping into a chair and pulling his boots out

"Obviously. About what?" Chris asked.

"Aiden's going to be here." He divulged.

Ajay and Chris gasped.

"She's coming here…tonight?" Chris questioned quickly.

Alex nodded, "I'm going crazy trying to sit here and wait for her."

Ajay's eyes were shining, "So that's good news right, if she's coming here then she obviously still has feelings for you. Maybe the two of you could get back together. Oh Alex, I'm so excited for you!"

"Don't get your hopes up Ajay, I mean you don't want to get excited over nothing right?" Chris said.

"I'm trying to be optimistic for Alex." Ajay glared at him.

Chris raised his hands in defeat and mouthed "sorry."

"She's never seen me wrestle before. I'm going to show her around and introduce her; it's going to be so cool to see her reactions." Alex said going to get changed.

Ajay poked her lip out at Chris and sat in his lap, "I want him to be happy."

"He is. He's about to piss his pants." Chris joked pointing at the bathroom where Alex was.

"I wish Aiden would just forgive him." Ajay pouted brushing a strand of hair out of her boyfriends face.

Chris kissed her shoulder, "Think about how hard it was for you to forgive me after I cheated on you."

"Yeah, but I did eventually. I think I'm going to talk to her about it." She mused.

Chris groaned, "You never got along with her so what does it matter to you if they got back together and besides they need to work out their business themselves."

"She was always nice to me, so I didn't necessarily hate her." Ajay explained.

Chris stood his girlfriend up and smacked her butt, "Leave them alone. Alex doesn't need your help."

"That damn boy needs all the help he can get." She scoffed.

* * *

After the Guns got dressed for their match they went to shoot a promo with their opponent Team 3D. Ajay was watching from afar when her eyes were covered from behind.

"Guess who?" A female voice said.

"Aiden?" Ajay asked turning around with a smile on her face.

"No silly, it's Mollie." She said with a confused look on her face, "Who's Aiden?"

Ajay wrapped her arms around her friend,"I haven't seen you in such a long time. What are you doing here?"

"I was just stopping by to see my dad and I saw you standing here. You look great." Mollie gushed.

"Thanks! What have you been up to? Are you coming back to wrestle?" Ajay asked

"No, maybe a few appearances but that's it." Mollie smiled.

She looked past Ajay and zeroed in on Alex, "Wow! What's gotten into him? He's been working out more than usual huh?"

Ajay looked back at the buffer than usual Alex, "Yeah, he's had a lot on his mind recently. Working out helped him escape."

"Think I should go talk to him?" Mollie asked excitedly.

She and Alex had been on again off again since he'd broken into the business.

"Moll, I don't think that's a good idea." Ajay sighed remembering the "off again" times when she had been so upset.

Mollie rolled her eyes, "It's just a 'hello' Ashton."

She linked arms with her friend as they walked toward Chris and Alex who had just finished their promo. Mollie tapped Alex on the shoulder.

He whipped around eagerly thinking it was Aiden. His face fell when he saw Mollie Jarrett.

"Hey Mollie." He greeted slowly.

"Hey yourself. I was just telling Ajay how nice you looked." She smiled as she ran her hand over his abs.

"Oh." He breathed, "So uhh…what are you doing here?"

She cocked her head to the side playfully, "My father is still a part of this company."

He smiled, "Right."

Ajay locked eyes with Chris.

"_Awkward_." She mouthed.

"So since we haven't hung out in awhile did you want to go to dinner after the show and catch up?" Mollie asked full of confidence.

"Excuse me for a minute." Alex said looking across the room.

He brushed past Mollie and jogged to the doorway. Mollie turned and watched him rush to a nervous looking blonde girl who'd just walked in. She was wearing black skinny jeans with a black off the shoulder top and sky high heels. Mollie bit her lip furiously when Alex picked the girl up into a hug.

She turned to Ajay who was smiling at the scene, "Who is she? A new knockout? One of Alex's many girlfriends?"

Ajay turned her gaze to Mollie, "She's Alex's ex-girlfriend, they broke up at Christmas. I tried to warn you that you didn't want to talk to him."

Mollie shrugged her shoulders, "She's his ex, I have nothing to worry about."

"Alex put me down." Aiden whispered, "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, remember?"

Alex groaned and put her down, "Do you know how bad I want to kiss you right now?"

She smiled, "Almost as bad as I want to kiss you."

She looked him up and down her finger touching the spandex material on his hip. She walked around inspecting his pants closely.

"And?" he grinned.

"Not bad." She smiled as she leaned closer to him to whisper into his ear, "It only works because of your sexy ass."

He made a low noise in his throat as he looked down at her. He was trying very hard to keep his composure.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned slowly to see who it was.

Mollie was standing with a smirk on her face looking at Aiden. Alex couldn't have been more nervous. Mollie could say anything at any moment and that scared the crap out of him.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Mollie grinned at him.

He wet his lips, "Uh Aiden, this is Mollie Jarrett, her dad was a founder of the company, and Mollie, this is my…this is Aiden Carlton."

Aiden tentatively stuck out her hand, "It's nice to meet you."

Mollie glared at Alex for a moment before she started smiling again, "You too. He left out the part where we used to date and make passionate love for hours but I'm sure a cute girl like you already knows how good he is in bed."

Alex's mouth shot open as he stared at Mollie. Ajay and Chris had the same expression on their faces as everybody turned to Aiden who was actually smirking.

"Oh, so it was you that I have to blame for all of his bad habits in bed. I guess I should thank you because I got to spend just as much time correcting all of your mistakes." Aiden smiled putting her hand back on her hip, "So thanks."

The two women stood staring at each other.

Alex took Aiden's arm, "We'll be right back.

He led her away down the hallway.

"What did you do that for?" Ajay asked, "He's been trying to get her back for months!"

Mollie scoffed, "He deserved it after all of the shit he put me through. And who cares anyway, that girl took it better than I thought she would."

Chris rolled his eyes, "Don't mess it up for him, he really likes her."

Mollie laughed and shrugged, "No promises but we'll see. How's Bailey doing?"

"She just had the babies about a week ago. They're so cute; you should go see them sometime." Ajay replied.

Mollie tapped her finger on her chin, "I think I will."

* * *

Down the hall Alex stopped to look at Aiden, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was going to be here."

Aiden took a deep breath, "It's fine, really. You're mine now and that's all that matters."

"Do you want to go ahead and tell everybody we're married so we won't have to worry about it anymore?" He asked hopefully.

Aiden shook her head vehemently, "Not yet. We'll tell everyone eventually."

His hand found her shoulder, "I'm sorry I wasn't such a good guy before I met you."

She smiled as she placed her small hand on his chest, "I don't care about before me. I care about now."

"_I love you._" He mouthed bringing her hand up to kiss her fingertips.

_"I love you too._" She mouthed back.

Chris walked up, "Hey, uh we need to head out for our match."

Alex looked at Aiden again, "Umm, what did you want to do?"

Ajay stepped up, "Come on, you can watch the match with me."

Alex spied Mollie waiting at the end of the hallway.

"Ajay, keep Mollie away from her will you?" he asked discreetly.

She nodded.

"I'll see you when we get done." Alex said kissing her hands.

"Why are you shaking?" she wondered looking at his hands in hers.

He grinned sheepishly, "Guess you're kinda making me nervous. You've never seen me wrestle before and I want you to like it."

She shook them out, "You're making me nervous now."

He kissed the backs of her hands, "I'll see you later."

She nodded as she watched him leave.

"Come on." Ajay said pulling her along.

"Is it always like that? I feel like I'm sending him into harms way." Aiden said.

Ajay smiled secretly, so she _**did **_still care about Alex.

"I still feel that way about Chris too sometimes." She reassured, "They know what they're doing, they'll be fine."

Mollie rolled her eyes trying to figure out how in the world **SHE** ended up with Alex.

* * *

"Hey guys!" Ajay shouted as she entered the locker room.

James, Bobby, and Daniels were lounging around watching the matches.

"Holy hell, you found Mollie and Aiden!" James boomed standing up.

"Well Mollie found me actually." Ajay said, "Aiden, you know James of course, that's his tag team partner Bobby, and that guy is Daniels, that's what everybody calls him. This is Aiden."

Aiden waved shyly.

Mollie went to everybody giving them hugs.

"I got a seat for you front and center young lady." James called patting the seat beside him.

Aiden sat beside him and took a deep breath.

"She's never watched a match, so kinda tell her what's going on okay?" Ajay whispered in James' ear as she and Mollie went back to talking to Bobby and Daniels.

James nodded and took a sip from his beer, "Didn't expect you to be here."

Aiden glanced at him, "Well I thought I would surprise him."

James smirked, "Does this mean you're giving him another chance?"

"Maybe, maybe not." She said elusively.

James leaned in close to her, "You're hiding something."

Aiden raised her chin, "I am not."

He chuckled under his breath, "So I take it you know about Mollie and Alex?"

Aiden nodded tightly, "It doesn't matter."

James raised his beer to her, "You're a better woman than most."

On the TV Chris and Alex came out doing the signature entrance. James watched Aiden out the corner of his eye he could see how she brightened up when she laid eyes on Alex. James leaned toward her and put his arm around her shoulders. Team 3D came down the ramp next.

James pointed at the screen with his beer, "Chris and Alex are considered faces."

Aiden furrowed her brow, "They all have faces."

The room erupted in laughter.

Aiden looked around completely clueless, "What?"

"Faces mean good guys, heels are bad guys." James explained between his laughter.

"Oh, I guess that was kind of dumb." She said lowering her eyes.

"No, no, you didn't know any better. Okay when the bell rings that means the match has started." James assured her.

On cue the bell rang. Alex was in the ring with D-Von. She watched as they locked up. D-Von brought his arm down on Alex's who dropped to his knees holding his shoulder.

Aiden gasped, "Is he okay? Why won't that guy let him go?"

"He's fine, he's okay. He's just selling the move that's all." James said.

She watched D-Von throw Alex into the ropes, Alex ran and ducked under his arm then hit the ropes again but this time was caught by the throat and slammed into the mat.

Aiden screamed and buried her face into James' shoulder, "I can't watch this."

Ajay sat beside her rubbing her back to comfort her, "I never thought we'd find somebody as bad as me about watching matches."

Mollie watched disgusted by the weak girl's actions. How in the world did Alex find this jellyfish who knew nothing about what he does for a living? She rolled her eyes at Bobby who shrugged as they turned back to the match.

James and Ajay coaxed Aiden into watching the match again. She sighed a breath of relief when Alex tagged in Chris to the match. Ajay who was holding her hand jumped at certain spots as she kept her eyes glued to the screen. Toward the end of the match Chris took a bad bump and was knocked unconscious.

"Oh my God!! I've got to go check on him!!" Ajay said as she shot out of her seat.

Bobby, Mollie and Daniels rushed after her knowing full well she would break character and run down to the ring to check on Chris.

Aiden was trembling in James' arms, "How do you do this? I could never do this. I can't even watch." She whimpered.

"We're all a little bit crazy that's all." James smiled.

Aiden warily looked at the screen at the exact moment Alex was being punched in the face. Aiden covered her eyes with her hands as she tried to peek through.

When she saw blood trickling from the corner of his mouth she jumped out of her seat, "I'm going to be sick."

When she got out of the bathroom the match had just ended.

"Come on, I'll take you to go see him." James said taking her hand in his.

* * *

They walked down the hall to the main entrance where they saw Chris laying on a stretcher being examined. Ajay was holding his hand and was bent over him with a worried look on her face.

Alex walked through the curtain blood still pouring from his mouth. Aiden took two steps to him and stopped when Mollie rushed into his arms. He looked down at her and then up to scan the crowded room for Aiden. He saw her for only a split second before Mollie turned his chin so she could dab some gauze on his cut lip.

"Are you okay? I was really worried about you." She said her eyes looking into his.

"I'm fine Moll." He said looking up again to where he saw Aiden.

She was gone, James was standing alone. He pointed down the hall.

Alex broke free from Mollie and stopped by to check on Chris, "Are you okay?"

"Luckily he's got a hard head so it was just a mild concussion. What about you?" Ajay asked.

"I've had worse." He said quickly as he took off down the hall.

"I think she went back to the locker room." James instructed as Alex ran past him.

He sprinted to the locker room and opened the door. Aiden had her purse on her arm and was about to walk out the door. Alex closed and locked it behind him.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked seeing her eyes shimmering with tears.

She shook her head, "I don't belong here Alex. Maybe this was a bad idea." She cried crossing her arms.

He walked to her and held her face in his hands, "Why would you say that? You think marrying me was a bad idea?"

She shrugged weakly, "Alex I don't know about all of his. I don't know about faces and the only heels I deal with are the ones on my feet. I was so nervous the entire time you were out there and then that girl…"

"Don't worry about Mollie. She's just trying to get a reaction out of you." He said smoothing her hair behind her ears.

"Well she did. I don't know Alex, maybe you should be with someone like her or Bailey, somebody that understands wrestling and can appreciate what you do."

"I've been with them both, they're not what I need, you are. That's why I married you. I don't care if you can't watch me wrestle, as long as you're waiting for me when I get home, it's good enough. That's what I want." He said finally kissing her.

His tongue met hers softly as he pulled her closer to him.

"Don't say stuff like that to me again okay?" he whispered as he kissed her nose.

"It's true. I don't belong here." She sniffled.

"And like I belong in Paris at all of those fashion shows? You're different and that's why I need you in my life. I like that about you." He promised.

A knock on the door made them jump.

"Open up in there." Bobby called.

He looked down at her again, "I love you."

She fell back into his arms squeezing him tightly, "I love you too."

He kissed the top of her head before he went to open the door.

"What are you two taking after Chris and Ajay now?" James smiled as he, Bobby, and Mollie all walked in.

Alex shook his head, "Just talking."

Aiden was leaning on the back side of the couch watching them.

Mollie went to Alex again and dabbed his mouth.

"You cut yourself pretty badly this time Lex." She said quietly.

He pulled away from her quickly, "It's fine."

She wasn't giving up. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bathroom out of sight. Aiden wet her lips furiously at the boldness of that girl.

James leaned on the couch beside her, "Might need to watch your back sweetheart."

Aiden smiled, "I think I might actually take your advice this time."

* * *

_**Yeah...so looks like Aiden's got some competition huh? Let me know!! xoxo**_


	10. You Promised

_**ok, so my drama llama broke out of his pen on this one and severely harassed alex...sorry :P lol ENJOY!!**_

* * *

It had been two weeks since Alex had seen Aiden at the arena. They had left and checked on Chris and Ajay and then snuck to Aiden's hotel room for some alone time. She left the next day to head back to Tokyo for several high profile shows. He had slumped back into his moody behavior because he'd barely got to speak with her, maybe twice in two weeks. Keeping up the guise of them not being together hand not been hard at all.

* * *

Meanwhile at Petey and Bailey's house, Ajay, Bailey and Mollie were all cooing over the three week old twins.

"They are the most adorable babies ever!" Mollie gushed picking up Ajay Marie.

Ajay was holding Jayden already.

"Typical Mama's boy and Daddy's girl. They're sleeping well already; it's been pretty much a breeze with them so far." Bailey smiled.

She could talk about her babies all day. She had missed out boasting about Riley except to her family for fear of Alex finding out.

Mollie looked up from Ajay Marie who'd fallen asleep already to stare at Bailey, "So, have you met Alex's ex-girlfriend yet?"

Bailey snorted, "Which one?"

"What's her name again, little tiny emotional girl, kind of cute…" Mollie described.

"Aiden." Ajay supplied watching her friends closely.

Bailey perked up, "When did you see her?"

"She came to the show two weeks ago." Mollie said grabbing a blanket to cover the baby with.

Bailey instantly looked at Ajay, "You didn't tell me she came to the show!"

Ajay shrugged, "I was a little preoccupied with Chris' concussion at the time Bay, it wasn't that big of a deal. She just came to visit him at the show."

"When did she leave?" "Bailey pressed.

"The next day, he dropped her off at the airport before we left." Ajay said.

"So you've seen her before then?" Mollie continued.

"Yeah, they dated for a few months, they got engaged and then drama went down and she's been gone ever since." Bailey informed her.

Mollie was shocked, "They were engaged? I didn't hear about this! Why did they break up?"

Bailey sighed, "Petey had a dream that he slept with Aiden and through some very crazy coincidences ended up believing he actually had slept with her. Well Ajay saw them kissing and told Alex then we slept together and Aiden found out. Eventually the truth came out but it was too late. Aiden was already gone."

"Not to corrupt your kids but, Holy Shit!" Mollie exclaimed.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly, the quick and ugly version is just that." Ajay agreed.

Bailey looked back at Mollie, "Well tell me what happened! How did she look? Was he all over her? Tell me!"

Mollie's face grew sour, "Oh My God, she was so annoying!! We were watching Alex and Chris' match and she was flipping out the entire time. She doesn't know anything about what we do, like she's completely clueless. She kept jumping and hiding behind James it was really very stupid."

"She didn't know what was going on. She had never watched a match before in her entire life, and it scared her to see Alex hurt. His lip did get cut pretty bad if you remember and it probably didn't help that I freaked out when Chris got a concussion. I act the same way when he is out there." Ajay defended.

She wasn't entirely sure why she was getting so defensive but her protective instinct was bristling.

"Yeah, that's a little different though Ashton, you actually understand what's going on and know when the big spots are coming. She was a hot mess. She could have got the crown for being the drama queen that night." Mollie retorted.

"Well how did Alex act towards her?" Bailey asked.

"He was happy to see her and kind of, well he kind of baby sat her because he wasn't affectionate at all. Like he hugged her, but I never saw him kiss her on the lips or anything. We actually hung out more than they did." Mollie said.

"You and Alex hung out more than he did with Aiden?" Bailey questioned.

"Yeah, I thought so. They just seemed kind of distant." Mollie said.

"She still must not have forgiven him." Bailey sighed.

"Yeah well it's not like you didn't block on him those couple of ties." Ajay muttered.

Mollie narrowed her eyes, "Excuse me?"

Ajay glared at her friend, "Come on Moll, I saw how you were coming onto him. Aiden is not the in your face kind of girl that you are. She was sitting back because you were throwing yourself at him."

Mollie laughed thinking she was joking, "Bailey is obviously right because if she wanted him she had plenty of opportunities."

"Whatever, I need to go pick Joey up." Ajay said handing Jayden to Bailey, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Mollie looked at Bailey, "What's her problem?"

"She's been on this whole kick about how she wants Alex to be happy and she wants him to get back with Aiden, blah, blah, blah. You'll see, it's something about Aiden that when something happens everybody just automatically goes to her defense. Everybody's always on her side." Bailey laughed, "Personally I'd much rather see him with you than with Aiden."

"What's her deal anyways?" Mollie asked.

"She bumped into him at some coffee shop and they started talking. She's like a fashion guru or whatever and has been living in Paris since Christmas."

Bailey told her while she changed Jayden's diaper, "We've never gotten along. She's just not his type. She belongs in her little fashion world and he belongs here with us."

"He still seems kind of hung up on her though." Mollie stated as she and Bailey switched babies.

"I've got an idea." Bailey said smiling at Mollie, "I mean if you want to maybe get back with him."

Mollie thought for a moment weighing the pros and cons of getting back with Alex. They'd always had so much fun when things were good between them.

"Why not? I could use some drama in my life." She smiled.

"Perfect. This is going to be fun!" Bailey exclaimed.

* * *

Later that afternoon Petey, Mollie, Bailey, Riley and the twins were all downstairs.

Alex knocked on the door and let himself in.

"Daddy!!" Riley yelled jumping up and running to him.

"Hey munchkin, have you been a good girl today?" he asked kissing her cheek and walking into the kitchen.

Petey and Bailey were feeding the twins their bottles while Mollie watched.

"How's it going at Grand Central Station?" Alex asked.

"Not too bad. Mollie's been getting in some practice and has helped out a lot." Petey said wiping his daughter's chin.

"Cool, well I'm going to head out before there are any diapers to change. Thank God I got to skip that part." He joked.

"Alex hold on, I actually have a favor to ask." Bailey called.

He nodded.

"Is it okay if Mollie stays with you, just for tonight? My mom is coming into town to see the twins and James is staying with Ajay so…" she trailed off.

Alex's face went blank as he looked between Bailey and Mollie.

"I told you I would just get a hotel room; I don't want to bother him." Mollie said.

Bailey poked her lip out at Alex.

He sighed, "No Moll, you don't have to do that. You can stay with me for tonight."

She looked at him hopefully, "Alex, it's not a big deal. I can get a hotel room."

Alex sat Riley on the counter, "No, it's okay. Did you need me to get your bags for you?'

She smiled at him, "When did you get manners?"

He shook his head and shrugged.

She came over to pick Riley up, "I didn't bring any. I was going to go home but it got too late."

When they left the room Petey watched Bailey, "What are you up to?"

She looked at him, "Nothing."

"You're mom's not coming here and you know it. James is also not staying with Ajay, so tell me what you're up to." He reiterated.

"I just think that it would be nice for Alex and Mollie to spend some time together that's all. They both can be quite stubborn so I took the initiative." She confessed.

He picked up Ajay Marie to burp her, "I think you don't need to be playing cupid and let Alex make the moves himself."

Bailey stuck her tongue out at him, "Too late now."

**

* * *

ALEX'S HOUSE

* * *

**

Mollie and Riley all walked in.

"Is pizza okay with you?" he asked.

She could sense his nerves.

She turned around to smile up at him knowing he was right behind her, "Pizza's good."

"The usual?" he asked quietly.

She cocked her eyebrow, "Do you remember?"

"Pepperoni, pineapple, and extra cheese, right?" he said.

She pecked his lips, "Yeah, that's right."

"Mollie! Come play with me." Riley called as she pulled her upstairs.

Alex's head was spinning. This was too much already. Her being here could seriously fuck up what he had going with Aiden. He was dancing on razorblades and he knew it. While he waited for the pizzas to arrive he tried calling Aiden. Of course she didn't answer.

_"Hey baby, please call me back as soon as you get this, I wanted to let you know that Mollie is staying over here with me and Riley for the night. Just please call me back. I miss you and love you."_ He hung up the phone just as the doorbell rang.

"Yay pizza!!" Riley screamed coming down the stairs followed by Mollie.

They fixed themselves plates and sat in front of the TV while they ate.

"Your daughter is so cute." Mollie whispered.

Alex looked down at Riley who was sitting on the floor eating and watching cartoons happily.

"Thanks." He said.

"What's wrong Shell? Do you want me to leave?" She frowned.

"No, it's okay. I'm just not all here. I'm thinking about stuff." He mumbled.

"Don't hurt yourself." She joked.

He rolled his eyes but smiled at her, "Shut up."

* * *

After they finished eating Riley took Mollie back upstairs to play before she had to take a bath and go to bed.

Alex tried Aiden again. Straight to voicemail.

_"Honey, please call me back. I need to talk to you please, just for a second, I just need to hear your voice." _He hung up quickly when he heard Mollie and Riley coming down the stairs.

"Umm, Alex, your daughter totally takes after you." Mollie laughed.

They turned the corner and were covered head to toe in finger paint.

"Riley? What happened?" Alex moaned shaking his head.

"Her started it." Riley pointed at Mollie.

"I dabbed paint on her nose and it escalated from there." Mollie confessed.

Alex leaned his head back on the couch as he stared at the ceiling. His patience was wearing thin.

He wanted to talk to Aiden. He would feel better if he could explain the situation he was in to her.

"Looks, like its bath time." He said heaving himself off the couch.

He took Riley back upstairs and began running her water for her.

"Don't touch anything, you'll get paint everywhere. Hold onto Daddy." He instructed as she undressed and hopped in the tub.

Mollie stayed in the doorway watching him with her. He really had grown up. He wasn't such a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy anymore. He was thoughtful and sweet. Whoever that Aiden bitch was, Mollie could hug her for finally calming Alex Shelley down.

When he finally got all of the paint off of Riley and out of her hair she was fighting to keep her eyes open. He wrapped her in a towel and sat her on the counter beside the sink to blow her hair dry. Riley had her forehead resting against his chest sound asleep as Alex finished drying her hair. He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. Mollie could almost cry. She'd never seen this side of him. He picked Riley up and took her to her room where he put her in her pajamas and tucked her in.

"I love you Riley Bear." He whispered as he cut on her Tinkerbell nightlight that Ajay had given her.

He closed her door after watching her for several moments.

"What?" he asked when he saw Mollie staring at him.

She shook her head smiling, "That's the cutest I've ever seen you."

He chuckled as he looked her up and down, "You need a bath too."

Mollie shivered, "I didn't bring any clothes."

"I've got some you can wear." He said going down the hall to his room.

He came back with a pair of boxers and a wife beater, "Is that going to be okay?"

She nodded taking the clothes from him.

"You can take a shower in my room if you want. I think Aiden left some of her shampoo and stuff in there. I was uh…you can have the bed too, I'll pull out the couch so you can be more comfortable." He stumbled through his words.

"Thanks. Here take these with you so you can wash them. They should be done by the morning right?" she asked pulling her shirt over her head.

Her light blue bra was barely containing her cleavage as she undid her jeans. She stepped out of them and handed them to Alex who was standing in front of her trying to avert his eyes.

She shoved him playfully, "Oh come on, it's not like you haven't seen it all before."

She looked down at herself, "Oh there's some paint on here too. Do you mind washing it too?" She asked turning around for him to undo her bra.

His shaking hand reached out and expertly released the fastenings. She covered herself and handed him the still warm garment.

She turned around and kissed his lips again, "Thanks Alex."

He was staring at her barely breathing through his parted lips. She was torturing him. She smiled wickedly as her hand found the back of his neck.

Her tongue came out and caressed his lips softly, "You can join me if you want to."

She pressed herself against him along with her lips before she turned and dropped her arms and went to the bathroom.

Alex stood still for several moments before he turned and raced downstairs. He ran into his laundry room and slammed the door behind him. He started a load of clothes and pulled out his cell phone again.

**Voicemail. Motherfucking. Voicemail. Again.**

_"Aiden please fucking call me back. I've got to talk to you. I'm going crazy not being able to talk to you. Listen seriously I don't care what you're fucking doing just call me back. Please. I love you so much."_ He begged.

He felt him self wanting to go upstairs. Being a player, being a man whore as Ajay put it was who he was. It was everything he was used to. It didn't help that his brain kept flashing mental pictures of Mollie in front of his mind's eye.

The last time they'd been together had been at her father's house and Alex had shamelessly bent her over the pool table. They were together for hours and several times throughout the night.

"Fuck, fuck, _**FUCK**_!" Alex groaned to himself while lightly banging his head against the door.

He had always failed the temptation test when it presented itself.

_**ALWAYS.**_

His heart felt like a pin cushion when he thought of how it would break Aiden though. He could see her exotic face covered in grief and agony at his betrayal again. He would lose her forever. He knew he would. He collected himself and continually thought of Aiden and how happy she made him. He _married_ her for goodness sake. He would allow himself to cheat on his _wife_.

No matter how seductive the temptation was.

No matter how many times he wanted to bury himself inside her luscious body.

No matter how bad he wanted to feel her lips around his cock.

"Fuck." He growled as his erection throbbed against his jeans.

He just wouldn't leave this room. He'd stay in there and stay out of trouble.

Good idea…except for Riley.

He was far too overprotective to do that. He always woke up at least once a night to check on her and then Aiden when they both were with him.

He tried Aiden again. It rang once…twice…a third time…

"Hello?"

He sat up quickly, "Aiden!?"

"What's wrong? Is it Riley? Are you okay?" she asked in a panic stricken voice.

"No we're both fine." He said his heart was beating a hundred miles an hour.

"Then what the hell is the matter? I'm in Tokyo with very important clients and I check my voicemail and you sound like somebody's got a gun to your head!" She whispered harshly.

He could hear her fighting tears. He'd scared her by accident.

"Honey calm down." He soothed.

"Alex! What the fuck is going on!?" She whimpered her voice cracking.

She rarely ever cursed, only when she was extremely excited or extremely upset.

"I just wanted to hear your voice. I had to hear it Aiden. I almost fucked up." He confessed.

He waited. He looked at his phone thinking she'd hung up on him. The call was still connected.

"Baby?" He asked cautiously.

He heard her try to mask her sob. It cut through him like a knife.

"Aiden, I didn't do anything that's why I was so desperate to talk to you because I knew if I heard your voice I could stop myself." He tried to explain.

"Alex you fucking promised me. You promised me I wouldn't have to worry about anything. You swore to me that you wouldn't cheat on me again." She cried

"I didn't, I swear I didn't, it's just that Mollie's here and she's coming on to me, and I haven't seen you in two weeks, and that's why I called you baby. I know what I promised you and I'm trying to keep it. Please don't cry, it kills me." He sighed.

"You calling me and telling me that your ex-girlfriend is in our house trying to seduce you while I'm a million miles away kills me Alex." She sobbed

He heard someone say something in Japanese in the background.

He heard her muffle another strangled sob.

"I've got to go...shit..." She muttered.

He heard her snap an order off in fluent Japanese

"Lex?" She called feebly.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Please be good for me." She said softly before her line went dead.

* * *

_**now isn't that a toughie for poor alex?! predictions please!! will he make it without cheating on aiden....stay tuned!! xoxo**_


	11. You Sunk My Battleship!

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, BourneBetter67, reaper07, and World's Biggest Jericoholic for reviewing :) Enjoy!!**_

* * *

He dropped his phone in his lap and sat in silence.

God, he didn't want to upset her. He wanted to let her know what was going on and be honest and up front with her. That was a definite first for him to turn away sex to be honest with his significant other. A couple of years ago he would have jumped right in the shower and then make it a game with himself to see how long he could keep it a secret. He had no intention of doing anything now especially when the mere mention of infidelity on his part caused Aiden so much strife.

He stood up and walked to the linen closet and grabbed two big blankets and an extra pillow. He had just made his bed on the couch when Mollie made her way down the stairs.

"Can I watch TV with you for awhile?" she asked sweetly.

He'd forgotten how good she looked in his boxers. She had them rolled several times to where the bottom hem of the leg was grazing her thighs. His tank that he gave her looked like it was made for her body. It hugged her trim waist and he could see her taut nipples straining against the fabric.

Damn him to hell for picking out that outfit for her.

"Sure." He croaked out.

Before he could sit up from his sprawled out position across the couch she climbed beneath the covers and lay on top of him. Her legs straddled his waist as she pressed her cheek against his bare chest.

"Mollie, let me sit up okay? He said.

"But you're warm, and I'm freezing. Just hold me until I warm up a little bit please?" she put her chin on his sternum as she batted her eyes at him.

**SHIT. FUCK. DAMN.**

He was in trouble, his battleship was sinking quickly, something had to happen fast before his whole fleet went down and he lost the war.

* * *

"Chris, your phone is ringing." Ajay shouted as she chased a naked Joey through the house trying to put his pajamas on.

"Hello?"

He strained to hear through the crackling on the other end of the line. He heard some foreign music and a very faint voice.

"Hello?" he repeated, he didn't recognize the number, "I'm hanging up now, bye."

"WAIT!" a females voice came through loud and clear then.

"Who is this?" he asked.

He heard several deep breaths from the sound of someone crying.

"Yo, for real, I'm hanging up." He said again.

"NO! Please don't, it's Aiden." She cried through the phone.

"Hey, you sound upset." He said, his brow furrowing.

A loud sob escaped her throat.

"What's wrong?" he questioned.

She was taking shaky breaths, barely able to answer, "Alex."

"Sweetheart calm down." He coaxed.

Ajay who had finally wrangled her son stopped dead in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at him.

Aiden was weeping hysterically now, "I-I shouldn't have called you."

"No, no honey, I don't mind. You gotta tell me what's going on though okay? Take a couple of deep breaths for me so I can understand you." he said.

Ajay had Joey on one hip and her hand on the other staring at him. She was about three seconds from snatching the phone out of his hand.

He covered the mouthpiece, "It's Aiden, she's trying to tell me something about Alex."

Ajay shrugged her shoulders sarcastically, "_Why?_"

Chris shrugged his sarcastically back at her, "That's better, tell me what's wrong.

"Alex just called me and told me that Mollie was at his house, and…and that he was trying to be good but she was coming onto him and is it terribly stupid for me to ask you to go over there for me? It's just that I'm in Tokyo, and I don't want him to mess up the progress we've made. If you don't want to because he's your friend I understand. I just, I just…" she trailed off crying even harder.

Chris pressed his forehead against the wall; he was a sucker for girls crying. One tear and that's all it would take for him to do just about anything to get them to stop.

"Aiden, Aiden, listen to me, stop crying honey so you can hear me." He cooed.

Ajay gritted her teeth.

"Listen, stop crying, I'll go over there and let you know what's going on and I'll call you back. Yes, I promise. Calm down for me and I'll call you back in a few." He promised, "You're welcome. It's no problem, okay."

He ended the call and turned back to face Ajay who looked pissed.

"So where are we going?" she asked haughtily.

Joey had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

He knew there was going to be no arguing with her, "To check on Alex for Aiden. He called her and told her Mollie was over there putting the moves on him."

Ajay was silent as she went to the garage. She put Joey in his car seat and they set off to Alex's house.

"She sounded pretty upset." He stated quietly trying to get her to talk to him.

"I'm sure she was sweetheart." Ajay replied.

He sighed, "I was just trying to calm her down. I couldn't understand her because she was crying so hard."

"It's fine honey." Ajay said.

"I'm sorry, I don't do well in those situations." He told her.

"I know you don't sweetheart." She huffed.

"Come on Ajay. I didn't mean anything by it." He tried taking his eyes off of the road to look at her.

"You know Alex probably invited Mollie over there himself. He probably finally got lonely enough to forget about her for the night." She groaned, "I really don't want to walk in on Alex having sex."

"If that was the case, why would he call Aiden and tell her? Wouldn't he want to keep that from her?" Chris thought.

"Maybe he broke it off with her and she didn't take it so well and you're about to block on our friend." Ajay fired back.

He inhaled deeply; he knew he was still in trouble. Ajay was not going to forgive his indiscretion easily.

**

* * *

ALEX'S HOUSE

* * *

**

It had been very tense for the past half hour as Mollie rested on top of him. Alex was loosely grasping at the small amount of control he had left. He kept his eyes shut and thought of Aiden.

Finally he couldn't take anymore, "Mollie I need to get up."

He felt her nod and sit up on her knees. He could feel her heat through his gym shorts. He was fighting a loosing battle with his hardness. Anytime she moved he grew harder. She saw him grit his teeth as she sat further back.

"Why are you fighting this? It's just me, we've done it plenty of times." She said taking his hands and placing them on her hips.

He was breathing like he'd been on the treadmill for an hour. He felt his hands squeeze her hips as he moved his up to meet hers. A small moan escaped her lips as her fingernails dug into his wrist. She began to lift her tank over her head. She got all the way until he could see the underside of her breasts when he bolted. He pushed her off of him as he jumped to his feet.

"Shit Mollie, I-I can't do this." He gasped.

"Why not?" she asked.

He bent over trying to get a grip on himself.

The doorbell rang shrilly. Alex rushed to it and flung it open. The relief on his face was completely evident.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked still breathing heavily.

Ajay walked in past him, "Hey Moll, what's going on?"

Mollie looked more than a little pissed that she had been interrupted.

"Just watching TV." She said.

"Why are you watching it here? I thought you were staying with Bailey?" Ajay asked.

She smelled a rat and she didn't like it.

"Her mom was coming into town. Where's James?" Alex asked as he closed the door behind Chris who had Joey asleep on his shoulder.

"How should I know?" Ajay retorted.

Alex looked confused, "Bay said that Carrie was coming into town and James was staying with you, so Mollie needed a place to stay."

There it was, the big fat rat, eating on a piece of cheese.

"Carrie is away with the Leafs, James is probably in a bar somewhere, wonder why Bailey would say those things?" Ajay sarcastically asked glaring at Mollie, "Why don't you come with us and stay, that way we can catch up some more."

Mollie shrugged, "Okay, let me get my clothes and purse."

She left the room and as soon as she did Ajay jumped on Alex, "What the hell were you thinking!? You love Aiden!" she was slapping Alex repeatedly.

He covered his head and tried to dodge her attacks, "I didn't do anything, I was really damn close, but I swear I didn't."

She shoved him backwards where he landed on the couch, "You better tell me the truth right now because I will NOT fucking lie to Aiden for you."

Alex shook his head as he looked up at Ajay, "I love Aiden, that's why I called her to talk to her. I didn't want anything to happen."

"So you expect me to believe that you, **_Alex Shelley_**, who cheats without the blink of an eye _**didn't**_ tonight? Even when you're sitting here in nothing but shorts and Mollie was practically naked herself?" Ajay put her hands on her hips as she stared holes through him.

"Her and Riley were finger painting and got paint everywhere so I washed her clothes for her because she didn't bring any extra." He said.

Ajay pursed her lips and crossed her arms, "Wow Alex, you've never used that excuse before, did you just make it up?"

He pointed to the kitchen, "The pictures are on the counter drying."

Ajay narrowed her eyes at him before she stomped into the kitchen.

Chris was smirking at Alex as he shifted Joey to his other shoulder. Ajay came back from the kitchen at the same time Mollie came downstairs.

"We'll be in the car." Chris smiled as he left with Mollie behind him.

"I was telling the truth. I do love Aiden. I don't want to mess things up again." Alex said standing up.

Ajay went to him and stood toe-to-toe, nose-to-nose with him, daring him to back away.

"If Chris or I ever get another phone call from Aiden where she is crying so hard we can barely understand her because she's afraid that you're cheating on her I will snap your beloved penis off and run it over with my car. Do I make myself clear?" Ajay asked, her voice threateningly low.

Alex nodded, afraid to say anything.

"She's the best girl you will ever find Alex.' Ajay said before she punched him in the shoulder, "So keep your dick in your pants."

He covered his throbbing shoulder, "Alright, I know."

* * *

Ajay walked out to the car and got in the passenger seat beside Chris who was still smirking.

"Why are you making that face?" Ajay growled.

"Why were you defending Aiden?" he came back, "On the way here you were pissed at her and in there one would have thought you guys were friends."

Ajay rolled her eyes, "Yes, well _**ONE**_ knows how it feels to be cheated on and it's not a whole lot of fun."

Chris sighed. He really hated it when she brought up his infidelity.

"What do you care it's not like Alex isn't known for it." Mollie piped up from the backseat, "They're not even together."

Ajay was gripping her seat tightly as she tried to maintain her temper, "He's been working so hard to get her back, I wasn't going to let him do that and mess it all up because he wasn't thinking with the correct head. She's such a sweet girl too, and I just didn't want her to be upset anymore."

Chris smiled over at his girlfriend, "Who are you and what have you done with Ajay?"

"_Seriously_." Mollie added from the back seat.

Ajay shrugged, "Aiden just didn't deserve that, that's all. I know how it feels to be in her shoes."

"How come I've never seen you in six inch stilettos?" Chris laughed.

"You know what I mean." Ajay rolled her eyes.

Mollie was still fuming, "Again, what do you care for Ajay? You've never stood up for any of his other sluts before."

Ajay turned around in her seat, "Aiden is **NOT** a slut. She happens to be a very sweet girl who was screwed over royally. She's never been anything but nice and generous to everybody and I wasn't going to let her get taken advantage of because you wanted to have a little fling with the dumb ass. She didn't deserve that."

Mollie rolled her eyes.

"And I really don't appreciate lies being told so that you could try to seduce him, especially when they involve me, Chris, and Joey. That's pretty shallow don't you think Moll?" Ajay spat.

Mollie laughed, "Wow, Bailey was right. You try to go against Aiden and the whole damn cavalry comes charging in to her rescue. She really is pathetic to call you all the way from fucking Tokyo to go check on her **EX-BOYFRIEND** who she has no claim over. That's really fucking pathetic."

"Mollie, you are such a bitch sometimes, you really are. I can't believe that Bailey would say that bullshit to you either. You don't even fucking know Aiden at all so you can't judge her." Ajay shot back, her voice rising.

"Look who's talking picking that dumb bitch over your supposed best friends. That's a little fucked up Ashton. I guess _'Little Miss Perfect'_ brainwashed you too!" Mollie retorted.

"I swear Mollie, you better watch your fucking mouth. What happened to you not giving a damn about Alex? After all the shit he put you through and now your chasing after him like a sad little puppy trying to distract him from what he really wants, that's what's pathetic." Ajay said.

"If he wanted her so bad you wouldn't have had to rush over in the middle of the night to stop him." She smiled.

"Nobody was coming to stop _**HIM**_, we were coming to stop _**YOU**_. I know how you are when you want something Mollie so don't try to play games with me." Ajay said rolling her eyes.

"**_Fuck you Ashton!_**" Mollie yelled.

"**_Fuck you back Mollie!_**" Ajay shouted.

"Hey, hey, calm down, 'Little Man' is waking up." Chris said putting a hand on Ajay's thigh.

All eyes were on the little boy who was poking his lip out and sniffling.

"What's wrong Joey?" Chris asked.

His lip started trembling as two big tears fell down his face, "Bad dream about the 'Mean Lady'."

Ajay glared at Mollie with tears in her eyes. He'd probably heard them arguing and it had subconsciously triggered memories of his abusive birth mother.

Chris pulled into their garage and Ajay was out of her seat before he put it in park.

She unbuckled Joey quickly and lifted him into her arms, " Its okay baby, you know Mommy and Daddy would never let anything happen to you."

She felt him nod as his small arms held her neck tightly.

"You can have the guest room Mollie, I'm sure James won't mind." Ajay hissed as she and Chris went upstairs to their room.

Ajay put Joey in their bed, "I'll be right back okay baby?"

He nodded slowly as he curled up onto her side of the bed.

Chris followed her into their closet, "Honey, it's okay. He just had a bad dream."

Ajay buried her face into his neck, "It was my fault. I know he gets scared when he hears arguing, I was just so pissed at Mollie though."

Chris kissed her softly, "He's going to be even more upset if he sees you crying."

Ajay nodded and wiped her tears away. She changed into her pajamas and was about to leave to get in the bed when Chris caught her arm.

"It was really sweet of you to take up for Aiden too. I know she really would love having you as a friend. She probably would have baked us a cake if she had seen you go." Chris laughed.

Ajay smiled, "Well call her and tell her it better be a German chocolate cake. I would run through traffic right now to have a piece."

Chris laughed and shook his head as he picked up his phone.

* * *

_**Hmmm.... methinks there will be an Alex/Mollie part 2....stay tuned :) review please xoxo **_


	12. Baby Cakes

_**And now for a big surprise!! get ready!! lol thanks for the reviews lovelies!!**_

* * *

A week had passed since Ajay and Mollie's blow up. Ajay had not been on the best of terms with her or Bailey whom she'd also got into a shouting match with.

She had her annual gynecologist appointment today so Alex had offered to watch Joey so Chris could go to Can-Am as a favor to Scott. She groaned inwardly, she HATED going to the doctor.

Meanwhile Aiden had come home for a short stay with Alex. They had worked things out after he'd confessed to every minute detail of what happened that night. She was sitting between Riley and Joey watching cartoons when Alex came downstairs. He leaned over the couch behind her and tilted her chin up to kiss her lips.

"I've got a hundred things to do, you don't mind watching them do you?" he rushed.

"No, of course not. Hurry back though okay?" she grinned.

"Thank you gorgeous. I love you." He kissed her again, "Hey you two midgets."

The kids looked up at him.

"Be good for Aiden okay?" he said.

They nodded and turned back to the TV. He kissed Riley's head as he left.

"What did you want for breakfast this morning?" Aiden asked.

They both sat up excitedly, "We want FRENCHIES!"

Aiden grinned as she stood up, "French toast it is."

She went to the kitchen and grabbed the counter as a wave of dizziness hit her. She inhaled and exhaled slowly as the room kept spinning. She felt her stomach churning as she raced to the bathroom. She barely got the toilet lid up before she threw up. She heaved for several minutes gripping the toilet to keep herself steady. She'd never experienced anything like this before.

"A-Ten, are you okay?" the quiet voice of Joey called on the other side of the door.

"I'm fine honey, go back and watch the movie." She said just before she began heaving again.

She coughed several times because she had nothing left to puke up.

"A-Ten?" Riley called.

Aiden splashed her face with cold water before she opened the door, "I'm okay. I just didn't feel very well for a minute."

They were both looking up at her with worried faces.

"Mommy gives me grape stuff when I don't feel good." Joey said.

Riley held her hand, "A-Ten, you get dat grape stuff so you won't be sick no more."

Aiden could feel another wave of sickness coming as she dropped Riley's hand and went back into the bathroom. She heaved again and again into the bowl.

"A-Ten!" Riley cried on the other side of the door.

She wiped her mouth with the towel as she slid down the wall to the floor. She reached over and opened the door as Riley rushed into her arms crying. Joey sat beside her and leaned his head against her arm.

"Shhh…its okay Riley." Aiden shushed, rubbing the little girl's back.

Joey was patting her arm trying to soothe her, "You need the grape stuff."

Aiden suddenly froze as she counted in her head…twice. She was a week late on her cycle. She was like clockwork, she was never late, and she had never missed a period.

Which could only mean one thing…

"Go get your shoes on; we're going on a field trip." She said quickly.

The kids bolted into the living room to pull ton their shoes. Aiden got up and went to change. She threw on a pair of short jean shorts with frayed ends and a Motor City Machine Guns shirt she had stylishly cut into a halter top with a pair of flip flops. They got in Aiden's Mercedes as they took off to the pharmacy.

They held her hands as they went in the store. She went straight to the pregnancy tests and began studying the boxes as the kids held onto her shorts. She had her oversized sunglasses sitting low on her nose as she was reading.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a woman staring at her. She looked over at her and the lady stuck her nose up in the air. Aiden rolled her eyes, she had more important things to deal with than some stuck up woman. She turned back to the box she was looking at and could feel the woman staring at her again.

Finally she'd had enough.

"Can I help you?" Aiden looked at the woman haughtily.

"I was just wondering how such a young girl like you had two children already and another one on the way." The woman said eyeing Joey and Riley.

"That's really none of your business now is it?" Aiden said.

The lady shook her head.

"Probably three different fathers too." The woman said not so quietly.

"You know if I wanted your opinion I would have asked you for it. These aren't even my kids for your information." Aiden said.

Riley tugged on one side of Aiden's jeans, "Her mean!"

Joey pointed to the lady, "Meanies go to timeout!"

Aiden smirked at the lady as she picked out a pregnancy test, "Come on, say bye to the lady who obviously doesn't own a mirror."

"Bye." Riley and Joey smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the lady asked.

"Oh nothing, you have fun putting that foot in your mouth with those hideous shoes you're wearing." Aiden grinned as they all three stuck their tongues out at the lady before they went to the counter to check out.

They stopped and ate breakfast and eventually made it home after running a few more errands. Aiden was scared to take the test now. Her nerves were making her queasy again too. Joey spied her grabbing the timer as she headed to the bathroom.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked standing in the doorway.

Aiden looked at the timer and the test in her hands, "I have to time something."

"Are you cooking something?" he asked.

"Sort of." She smiled.

"What are you cooking?" Riley asked as se walked up the stairs.

"A bun…in my oven." She said, knowing that they wouldn't understand.

"Okay." Joey grinned as he let Aiden pass.

When she was done taking the test she set the timer and opened the door. Both kids were standing there waiting.

"Need help?" Riley asked.

The doorbell rang shrilly making Aiden jump.

"Call me when the timer goes off okay?" she said going to the stairs.

They both nodded.

She peered through the window to see Ajay's car in the drive, "Shit."

She opened the door, "Hey Ajay."

Ajay looked surprised, "I didn't know you were here."

Aiden shrugged obviously trying to hide something, "Yeah, I got in last night. I'm staying for about a week or so…"

Ajay watched her suspiciously, "Are you okay?"

Aiden nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm fine why, do I seem different to you or something?"

Ajay nodded, "Yeah, a little. You're like jumpy."

Aiden laughed nervously, "No. I'm fine. I mean why would I be nervous, no need to be right?"

"Where's Joey?" Ajay asked.

"He's upstairs. I'll go get him." Aiden said.

"No, its okay, I like to surprise him." Ajay smiled as she went to the stairs.

"NO!" Aiden shouted, as she covered her mouth to calm herself, "I'll go get him."

"What is going on Aiden?" Ajay asked.

"A-Ten! Your bun in the oven is done!" Joey screamed from the stairs running down them with the test in his hand.

Ajay's wide eyes met Aiden's. A devious smirk spread across Ajay's face as she grabbed the test and took off down the hall with it.

"**AJAY!!**" Aiden screamed as she went after her.

Riley and Joey ran screaming after them. Ajay was laughing maniacally as Aiden chased her around the house. She kept eluding Aiden by ducking and dodging out of the way.

The kids were laughing hysterically as the girls were screaming and running around like crazy people. Finally Aiden wised up and grabbed Ajay's Red Bull and clicked the top.

Ajay gasped when she saw Aiden holding it over the sink.

"_**HAND OVER THAT MOTHER FUZZY PEE STICK NOW! OR THE RED BULL GETS IT!!**_" Aiden yelled breathing heavily.

"You wouldn't dare!" Ajay said.

Aiden spilled half down the sink, "I wouldn't?"

"NO!!" Ajay screamed.

"Put it on the counter and **NO FUNNY BUSINESS!!**" she ordered.

Ajay placed the test on the counter and backed away. Aiden poured the rest of the Red Bull down the sink as she snatched the test and ran upstairs to the bathroom. Ajay chased her up the stairs but Aiden had already locked the door.

She gave her a few minutes before she knocked on the door, "Aiden?" Ajay called.

No answer.

"Aiden come on." She said.

She heard the doorknob click as she slowly opened the door. They locked eyes with each other, both pairs filled with tears.

"I'm pregnant." Aiden said softly.

Ajay smiled as her tears fell, "So am I."

Aiden laughed as her tears fell too. They hugged each other tightly as they cried.

"Mommy?" Joey asked.

"It's okay baby, Mommy's just happy." Ajay said hugging him too.

They went back downstairs and sat on the couch. Riley was in Aiden's lap and Joey was in Ajay's

"I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I found out then." Ajay smiled.

"I threw up for fifteen minutes and then realized." Aiden said.

"Alex is going to be so happy. He's wanted to get back with you the entire time you've been gone. He's just going to be head over heels." Ajay said rubbing Joey's back.

"So is Chris. Alex told me the two of you have been trying for a long time." Aiden said.

Ajay nodded excitedly, "How are we going to tell them?"

"I don't know what if we made like a cake or something and wrote it on top?" Aiden suggested.

Ajay clapped her hands together, "I don't know how to cook."

Aiden laughed, "If the kids can do it, so can you."

**

* * *

LATER THAT NIGHT

* * *

**

Aiden, Ajay, Riley, and Joey had all helped fix dinner and helped bake the cake that had been adorned with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles.

Ajay, Chris, Alex, and Aiden were at the table talking. The kids were upstairs playing.

"Hope you saved room for dessert." Aiden smiled, as she got up to go to the kitchen.

Ajay was grinning widely when Aiden returned and sat the cake down in front of the Guns.

"Aww…did Joey and Riley help make this?" Chris smiled.

"I did the sprinkles." Ajay said.

"Yeah, we know because my house didn't burn down." Alex quipped.

"Congratulations Daddies? I don't get it." Chris stated looking between Ajay and Aiden.

"Me either." Alex said.

"We're pregnant!" both girls squealed.

Chris stood up, "Are you serious!? You're pregnant right now?"

Ajay nodded excitedly. He grabbed her up in a huge hug as he kissed her face all over.

"I'm going to be a daddy! I'm going to have a baby!" he yelled.

Aiden was laughing at Chris' reaction when she turned to Alex. He looked completely lost in thought. Aiden waited expectantly for maybe a delayed reaction or something but he just sat there with a worried look on his face. She chewed her lips as tears stung her eyes.

"I'm going to go check on the kids." She said softly as she rushed out of the room.

Ajay pushed out of Chris' arms and put her hands on her hips staring harshly at him, "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Yeah, aren't you excited dude?" Chris asked.

Alex shook his head, "You just don't understand."

Ajay was irate. She and Aiden had had such a good day and now his dumb ass was going to ruin it.

"You are such a piece of shit Alex! Poor Cookie has been so excited all day to tell you and you act like she just ran over your dog!" she said.

"He doesn't have a dog." Chris interjected.

"Shut up." Ajay glared at him.

"Who's Cookie?" Alex asked.

"It's the nickname I gave her, because she's sweet and cooks, and we made those 'Aiden Cookies', it just worked, don't change the subject! Why the hell are you not excited?" she asked.

"Do you know how fucking pissed Bay's going to be? No, you have no clue. You don't know anything. Aiden is going to have to raise this baby by herself because Bailey's going to kill me when she finds out." Alex said angrily.

"I can't believe you let Bailey's unknown reaction completely ruin Cookie's announcement." Ajay hissed.

Aiden walked back in the room with her head down, "The kids were fine. Umm…did you want me to cut the cake?"

Alex looked at her, she looked so tiny and vulnerable. He didn't mean to upset her at all, but he had to worry about those situations in order to protect her and now their unborn child.

He pushed away from the table and went to her pulling her trembling frame into his arms, "Honey, I'm so sorry. I just worry about stuff too much; I didn't mean to upset you."

He felt her crying into his chest. Ajay poked her lip out to Chris. She felt bad for poor Aiden.

Alex lifted her chin up to look at him, "I love you. I'm sorry."

He kissed her lips gently. She was still crying. Even though it broke his heart to see her upset, she was so beautiful when she cried. Her eyes looked like the reflection of the sunrise off of a bed of water. He could see into her soul when he looked into them. It was the only time she was completely open and unguarded.

"So…so you're not mad that I'm pregnant?" she asked, her lip quivering.

He smiled, "No, I'm so happy, you just have no idea. I will finally get to go through all of the stages of your pregnancy. You're going to be so cute with a little belly on you."

She laughed through her tears, "I thought you didn't want to have a baby with me there for a minute."

Alex shook his head, "Why in the world would I not want to have a baby with my _wife_?"

Aiden stiffened at his words. Alex closed his eyes when he realized what he'd just said.

"**YOUR WHAT!!??**" Ajay and Chris yelled.

* * *

_**Way to go Alex!! What happens next? Review and you'll see :) xoxo**_


	13. Good Day

_**Soooo close to the big day, sorry!! thanks to all of you who reviewed it was much appreciated, please enjoy! it only gets better from here :) xoxo**_

* * *

Aiden and Alex were grinning sheepishly at them.

"I'm sorry. I think we just heard you call Aiden your wife." Chris stated calmly.

"No you didn't." Alex said.

"Yes we did Alex Shelley, so you better fess up those details like yesterday!!" Ajay said coming at him.

Alex moved to where Aiden was behind him in case Ajay felt the need to attack.

Chris caught her arm, "You're pregnant now Ajay, you can't just go and fight people. You have to be careful for the baby."

She pulled away from him, "I'm fine Chris. Don't treat me like a child."

Chris shook his head at his stubborn girlfriend. Alex felt Aiden grip his shirt tightly. He turned to look at her. She had gone pale and was rocking back and forth.

"What's wrong baby?" Alex held her steady as he watched her.

She was blinking slowly, her gaze unfocused.

"Aiden, tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me." Alex pressured.

Chris came behind her and pulled her into a chair while he fanned her.

"I just got dizzy that's all. I'm okay now." Aiden said quietly as her hand went to her stomach.

"You're still very pale." Alex fussed.

"Yeah, you don't have any color at all." Chris added still fanning her.

"Cookie are you sure you're okay?" Ajay asked.

Aiden smiled weakly and nodded, "I'm fine I promise. I didn't mean to scare you. I thought I was going to pass out that's why I grabbed you."

Alex sat beside her and cut her a piece of cake, "Eat a little bit, it might make you feel better."

"I'm okay. It's passed now." She assured Chris who hadn't moved yet.

He nodded as he went to sit beside Ajay. She had noticed Chris reaction when it came to Aiden. She knew he wanted her to be a little softer sometimes so he could baby her more but she just couldn't do it. She was who she was and Chris knew that. He did jump at the chance to be there and help Aiden and Ajay noted that fact.

"So tell us everything." Ajay said looking at them.

Alex was watching Aiden like a hawk, his overprotective nature spiking.

Aiden smiled as she pushed the red velvet cake around with her fork, "He asked me when he came to Paris. I forgave him and he proposed at the Eiffel Tower."

"Was that before or after you had sex up there." Ajay grinned.

Aiden's eyes shot to Alex's.

"What? You had to know I was going to brag about that." He grinned.

She shook her head at him, "It was before, and then we 'celebrated.'"

"When did you get married? I haven't seen you with a ring on Alex." Chris asked.

"We got married the night Bailey went into labor. Riley and I met up with Aiden in Vegas. I wear her ring and she wears mine. So when we're apart, it's kind of like we're not." Alex said.

"So you mean Riley's been keeping it a secret too?" Ajay asked, more than a little shocked.

They both nodded.

"She was asleep for most of it." Aiden said.

"So when do you think you conceived your baby?" Ajay smiled, it was so much fun to talk about the babies already.

"Well if I counted correctly, it would have been right after we got married on our 'honeymoon.'" Aiden said, "What about you?"

Chris turned to Ajay.

"It was when we went to Cancun for the weekend as a little get away." She told him.

"That was almost two and a half months ago." He said.

Ajay nodded.

"How are you almost two and a half months pregnant and didn't know?" Aiden asked astonished, "You haven't been sick or anything?"

"Two and a half months exactly, and no, I haven't been. I went for my annual appointment and found out then. I don't keep up with my cycle anymore. I stopped after I had the two miscarriages because I would get excited if I was late or whatever, and then nothing came out of it."

"So you're only like three weeks and she's almost three months?" Alex asked.

Aiden nodded.

"Good, I can watch and learn from your mistakes." Alex laughed at Chris.

"Who says I'm going to make any?" Chris shot back.

"_Anyways_, so when are you going to tell everybody? We should go out to dinner and we could announce it together then!" Ajay said excitedly.

"Ajay." Alex said.

"Or, we could go down to the next taping and announce it then that we're both having little baby machine guns!" she continued chirping happily.

"Ajay!" Alex said again, finally getting her attention.

"What? Too much?" she asked.

"We're not going to tell anyone yet." Aiden said.

"Why?" Chris asked.

"Bailey is going to be furious when she finds out that we eloped, especially since we included Riley. And we don't know though I could pretty much guess how she's going to react when we tell her that Aiden is pregnant. I just don't want either one of us to have to deal with that stress right now." Alex said.

"You can't hide it forever." Ajay said.

"We'll tell everybody eventually. I'm just not ready yet. I'll hide it for as long as possible and then I guess I'll have to say something." Aiden said.

"I can't believe the two of you are married." Chris said with a smirk.

"You're not going to tell anyone are you? You have to promise you won't say anything." Alex said.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell everybody Cookie?" Ajay asked, a little dejected.

Aiden nodded, "You know how I am about the lime light. It'll be fun; we can go on secret shopping trips and doctors appointments together. Please don't tell anyone Ajay, please?"

Ajay frowned, "I want you to be pregnant too."

"She is, she's just undercover pregnant. It would make me feel so much better if I knew that you two were looking out for her too. This is going to be a hard secret to keep unless we have some help." Alex said.

Chris looked at Ajay, "What do you think babe?"

She looked at Alex and Aiden, "Bailey won't be able to bring herself to kill me since I'm pregnant too. We'll help you keep everything a secret for as long as possible."

"Thank you so much!" Aiden gushed as she rushed around to hug Ajay and then Chris.

"But that doesn't mean you get to skip out on stuff! You have to go shopping and turn Alex's junk room into a nursery, and whatever else. You can go all incognito, as long as you go." Ajay said.

"I'll call the doctor in the morning to schedule you an appointment to make sure everything's okay." Alex said kissing his wife.

"I need to get Riley ready for bed." Aiden said.

"I'll go with you, and help with Joey." Ajay said getting up.

When they left Chris looked back at Alex, "I couldn't do it."

"Do what?" Alex asked.

"I couldn't keep it a secret. If I married Ajay I would want everybody I know to know about it, and even more so now that she's having my baby. Doesn't it suck? I mean nobody even knows you're dating, everybody thinks the two of you are still separated. How can you stand not to hug her and not kiss her?" Chris wondered.

Alex shrugged, "It sucks, I'm not even going to lie. I can't stand not being able to hold her hand or kiss her in public. I've had to stop myself plenty of times, but that's what she wants. She wants it to be just me, her, and Riley for awhile so we can build our relationship back up. She doesn't want any drama to deal with so we just keep quiet about it."

Chris shook his head, "How are you going to hide her being pregnant? She's going to start showing eventually; I mean I could already tell with Ajay a little bit because they're both so small."

Alex licked the icing off of Aiden's fork that she left, "She's good with that stuff. She could hide a second head on her shoulders if she had to. It's not like she doesn't have the damn wardrobe to pull it off. She's got every frilly, flowy, poufy, piece of clothing ever made."

Chris smiled his hope increasing, "We're going to be dads."

"No, you are, my ex-girlfriend is just getting fat because she misses me." Alex smiled, "Start practicing keeping our secret now, because trust me, it's hard as shit to do."

"I heard that part!" Aiden yelled down the hall ass she walked into the dining room, "You'll never be able to tell that I get over a size two."

Alex smirked as he pointed to her, "See? She's sneaky."

"No, I'm just not going to look fat." She said poking him in the side.

**

* * *

THREE MONTHS LATER

* * *

**

Aiden was around four months pregnant and Ajay was close to six. They had both found out they were having girls and had been planning accordingly. While the gender of their babies were the same their pregnancies had not been. They had been complete and polar opposites.

Ajay had had no problems whatsoever; she was glowing and completely happy. She'd never experienced any sickness and was breezing through her pregnancy. The only thing that bothered her was how big she was. She looked like Bailey did when she was eight months pregnant with her twins. She'd thought that she might be having twins but several tests confirmed she was carrying only her daughter.

Aiden on the other hand was suffering through hers. She was always throwing up which she blamed on acid reflux if anyone got suspicious. She was barely showing much to her and Alex' relief. That and the baby's health had been the only two positives so far. Aiden slept most of the time when she wasn't throwing up; thankfully Ajay was able to take care of her when Alex had to go to work. She'd stayed on the down low since she'd found out she was pregnant. Everybody thought she was still in Europe but she'd gotten a release from her contract and was staying with Alex all the time now. She made "surprise" appearances on some occasions with the whole group of friends when she was having a good day, but other than that she stayed home with Alex while he babied her and waited on her hand and foot. She tried not to worry him but it didn't help at all. Any little thing set off alarm bells in his overprotective mind.

On one of her few and far between good days, Ajay was over at her house. She came downstairs dressed in a semi snug black mini dress and black over the knee boots.

"I want to go shopping." She said her voice strong for the first time in days.

Ajay looked her up and down envious of her still petite figure, "You can go to hell."

Aiden's mouth hung open as she stared at her friend, "Ajay, that wasn't very nice!"

"I don't care. You look like you swallowed a cute little watermelon, while I look like I unhinged my jaw and swallowed a house." Ajay said as she ate cereal with ice cream off of her protruding stomach.

Aiden sat on the couch beside her with her mouth open waiting for a spoonful.

Ajay looked at her skeptically but then gave in, "What the hell, you're just going to puke it up later anyways."

Aiden smiled sadly. She loved being pregnant and knowing that a part of Alex was growing inside of her. She just really wished that she wasn't so sick all the time. She and Alex were trying to make the best of it. Ajay noticed her mood. Today was a good day; she could see it in her eyes. Ajay couldn't say no to her when she looked like that. She fed Aiden another spoonful as she put the lid back on the carton.

"Help the fat lady up so we can go." She groaned feeling her baby shift.

Aiden's face lit up, "Really?"

Ajay smiled shaking her head, "You're so cute Cookie, yes, find me some shoes that match please."

Aiden rushed to the door to grab her shoes for her and placed them at her feet.

Ajay looked at her again, "Do you have something to cover up with? It's kind of noticeable in that dress."

Aiden went to the closet and grabbed her knee length black jacket and looked at Ajay when she put it on.

She nodded, "That'll work. Make sure you call Lex."

Aiden picked up the house phone and dialed Alex's number, "Hey babe, are you busy?"

"No we're taking a break. Is everything okay?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm actually having a good day for once, so me and Ajay were going to go shopping. I just wanted to tell you so you wouldn't worry."

He was quiet. She knew he and Chris had met up at the gym with Petey that day.

"I'll let you go okay, oh I was thinking about making a big dinner tonight for the four of us. I'm really hungry and have been thinking about those steaks in the freezer forever." She laughed at herself.

"Okay, sorry sweetheart, Petey was standing right there. I'm so glad you're having a good day, just please don't overdo it. Don't walk around all day and don't eat a lot of stuff that really will make you sick okay?" he worried over her.

"I won't, I'll be good. I promise." She giggled.

She was giddy about actually being able to get out of the house for a little while.

"I love that sound when you laugh. It makes my day." He said in a hushed voice, "I love you more that Mick Foley loves plaid."

"Is that the weird furry guy?" she asked.

"Yeah." He laughed.

"I love you more than that one guy loves his gold medals." She said.

He laughed even harder at her attempt, "Call me in a little while crazy girl."

They hung up with each other. Aiden turned around to see Ajay staring at her.

"You guys make ME want to puke." Ajay laughed.

Aiden rolled her eyes, "Whatever, you and Chris are just as gross."

* * *

_**okie, cute little info chapter, the drama is in the next one, it's going to be aiden vs. mollie round 1 ding ding ding....review and tell me how excited you are!! xoxo**_


	14. Toxic

_**And now for the drama....and there's only going to be more where this came from :) thanks for the reviews lovelies, even though I am STILL waiting for the alerts on them! i'll hit you back when they finally get to me :)**_

* * *

The girls were walking around the mall after lunch and stopped in a maternity/baby store.

"Let's try stuff on!" Aiden squealed as she went through the racks.

"Cookie I don't think they have enough acres of fabric to cover all of this up." Ajay sighed.

"Yes they do." Aiden said as she grabbed clothes for Ajay too.

They tried on several different outfits, before Ajay got fed up because nothing was fitting her right.

"Ajay, are you going back out there?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah." She said.

"Will you grab me a size smaller in this?" Aiden asked holding the garment through the crack in the door.

"Bitch." Ajay grinned.

"I'd rather be your size than sick all the time so let me know when you want to trade." Aiden said.

"No thank you. I don't know how you do it. I couldn't throw up all day; I'd call my brothers to come put me out of my misery." Ajay laughed as she went back into the store to grab some more stuff.

"Well look who it is, it's the ghost of our old friend Ajay." Mollie said coming over with Bailey.

They hugged each others necks and then their hands went to Ajay's stomach.

"Wow, are you sure you're not going into labor tomorrow and didn't tell us?" Bailey grinned.

"No, just huge that's all" Ajay smiled.

"Aww, I felt her move!" Mollie gushed, "That's so weird."

"It's still a little weird for me too." Ajay confessed.

"Why didn't you call us we could have come shopping with you?" Bailey said.

"Well actually Aiden's in town and she called and asked me to go." Ajay said.

She really hoped and prayed that Aiden could hear them, so she would know to be careful and to cover up her bump.

"Where is she?" Mollie asked her defenses going up.

Ajay pretended to look around for her, "I don't know where she went."

Aiden timidly stepped out of the dressing room, "Were you done with these?"

Ajay nodded slowly. She saw how pale Aiden had gone and crossed her fingers that she could keep it together.

"How are you two doing?" she asked still holding the clothes in front of her.

Ajay had her jacket in her hands, without it covering her up she would be noticed for sure.

"Fine." Mollie answered, "How's Alex doing?"

Aiden shrugged, "Okay I guess. You would know better than I would right? He said you've been down at the Impact Zone a lot lately."

Mollie smirked, "Well I actually belong there unlike you."

"Mollie back off." Ajay warned.

"There you go again with that. She's a big girl she can take up for herself." Mollie snapped back.

"I get that you want him, but what I don't get is why you would chase him after your history together and especially when he obviously wants me?" Aiden asked.

Mollie laughed, "I've been nice, but now you're going to have to fight for him bitch!"

"Mollie, I said to back off!" Ajay said again.

She could see Aiden shaking, whether from sickness or rage she was unsure.

"Well I guess now is not a good time to tell you my mom got everybody this awesome deal on a trip to the Bahamas. If eight people sign up and book their plane tickets the rooms are free. I was going to call to see if you wanted to go." Bailey smiled.

She was thoroughly enjoying the little cat fight between Mollie and Aiden, she had her own agenda that dealt with her and Alex and no one else.

"There are only six of us, you, Petey, me, Chris, Alex, and Aiden." Ajay noticed.

"James and I are tagging along." Mollie said glaring at Aiden.

"So can I go ahead and book the flights?" Bailey questioned.

"What about the kids?" Ajay asked.

"Get your Gran to watch Joey. My mom is going to watch Riley and Petey's mom is going to watch the twins." Bailey answered.

Ajay looked knowingly at Aiden, silently asking if she would be able to go and hide her pregnancy at the same time.

A sales clerk came up to Aiden, "Excuse me miss, would you like me to take those for you?"

Aiden's eyes shot to her jacket in Ajay's hands. Ajay came over to block Aiden's stomach as the clerk took the clothes from her hands. She simultaneously handed Aiden her jacket that she covered up with.

Bailey narrowed her eyes at Ajay, she was acting very weird. She was being very protective of Aiden for some reason and it was bugging her to get to the bottom of it.

"So are you in?" Mollie smiled looking between the two of them.

Bailey watched as Ajay gave Aiden that loaded look again.

"That's fine." Aiden answered nodding slightly at Ajay whose brows came together in question.

"What's going on? Am I missing something here?" Bailey asked.

Aiden started shaking again and closed her eyes. Ajay knew she was about to break, she'd grown accustomed to watch for the signs.

"We've got to go. I forgot that we had that nail appointment." Ajay said quickly as she grabbed Aiden, "Give us a call about the details Bay. Mollie, see you later."

Ajay pulled a weak Aiden behind her and through the mall back to her car.

Mollie looked at Bailey, "Let's go look at bathing suits I've got to find something really hot to wear to impress Alex. That bitch is not going to have him. She doesn't deserve him…what's your issue?"

Bailey blinked before turning back to Mollie, "Was that not a little odd to you?"

Mollie shrugged.

"Something's going on and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

* * *

Ajay barely got Aiden in the passenger seat before she blacked out.

"Aiden! Cookie, please wake up. Aiden!" Ajay yelled frantically at her friend.

Aiden was breathing rapidly and was as white as a sheet. Ajay drove quickly to the hospital. When they pulled into the emergency bay Aiden came to. She was still frantically breathing as she covered her chest with one hand.

Ajay had tears in her eyes, "I'm going to call Alex and Chris to get them to meet us here okay?"

"NO!! Don't call them! I'm fine, just take me home."

Ajay didn't move, "You are going to go get checked out, there is no discussion on that. Look at you Aiden, you blacked out, you can't catch your breath, it's ridiculous for me to take you home without you getting checked out."

Aiden's tears fell, "Please don't call Alex. He'd be so upset if he knew I over did it. Please."

Ajay nodded reluctantly as they both got out of the car.

* * *

Aiden was admitted and taken back to have several tests run on her. She was waiting in the room with Ajay who was holding her hand and smoothing her hair down. Aiden was crying silently on the table waiting for the doctor to return with her test results.

"Cookie, please don't cry." Ajay whispered squeezing her hand.

Aiden looked at her, "I just want to have a normal pregnancy and be happy like you."

"You're having Alex's baby, you're not ever going to be normal again." Ajay joked.

Aiden laughed.

Ajay moved the sheet covering Aiden to look at her stomach.

She put her hands on Aiden's womb, "Has she stared moving yet?"

Aiden shook her head, "Alex and I always poke at her to see if she will but she just stays where she's at."

The doctor walked in smiling, "Mrs. Martin are you feeling any better?"

She shrugged, "A little. I feel nauseated now."

"Well after looking at all of your test results it seems to me that you are under tremendous amounts of stress. Stressed to the point where you trigger anxiety attacks that cause your blood pressure to rise, and then you black out. That worries me greatly. If your blood pressure would have gotten any higher you could have had much worse results than you did today. I'm diagnosing you with Toxemia. There is no known cause, but I'm leaning towards the possibility that yours may be stress related. Can you tell me if you know of anything that might be triggering these anxiety attacks? Have you been worried about something, your pregnancy or otherwise?" The doctor asked.

Aiden hesitated, she didn't want to divulge too much.

Ajay squeezed her hand again, "Come on Cookie, you can at least tell him everything that's been going on."

Tears filled Aiden's eyes again, "Where do I start? I just don't even want to talk about it."

Ajay frowned as did the doctor at how upset she was getting already.

She turned to the doctor, "Her and her husband eloped and didn't tell anyone. They've been keeping that a secret along with her pregnancy from his daughters mother who will be highly pissed when she finds out, and they both have been traveling for work, and his ex-girlfriend who also doesn't know they are married is trying to get back with him too."

The doctor shook his head at Aiden, "That's a lot to juggle without being pregnant on top of that. Something got to give sweetheart and it's up to you to decide whether it's going to be all of that unnecessary stress or the health of you and your baby."

Aiden sat up quickly a terrified look in her eyes, "But you said that she was okay! You said there were no problems with her!"

He put his hands out to calm her, "She was fine….this time. If you keep all of this pressure on yourself is only a matter of time before it complicates her life as well. What happens to you happens to her as well."

Aiden buried her face in her hands, "I don't want to hurt her."

Ajay stood up and pulled Aiden into a comforting hug, "You're not going to. We'll just have to make sure your relax more."

"I'm not ordering strict bed rest yet, but if your condition worsens I will. My main goal is to keep you and your baby safe. I also wrote you a prescription for you to take for your nausea, but I think that too is tied in with all of the tension you have built up trying to juggle everything. Take it easy and get some of that stress off of you for you and your baby's sake." The doctor said handing her a prescription.

Aiden tearfully thanked the doctor and got dressed.

* * *

The girls got down to the car and stopped in to fill Aiden's prescription. Ajay kept looking over at Aiden who had been quiet the entire ride home.

"So are you going to tell Alex about this and then tell Bailey about everything?"

Aiden shook her head.

"Cookie, you've got to take this stress off of you." Ajay scolded.

"Do you know how bad it would be if Bailey found out? She would be so mad and upset and it would stress me out even more having to deal with that. I'm just going to leave things the way they are, I'm NOT going to tell Alex about what happened today and I promise I'll try to relax more okay?" Aiden said.

Ajay shook her head, "What about the baby? Are you going to risk her health to keep all of this up in the air?"

Aiden looked at her very seriously, "It's a bigger risk if I don't."

"I hope you know what you're doing." She muttered.

Aiden grabbed her stomach, "Ajay pull over, I'm going to be sick."

"Just hold on, we're right here at the house." Ajay said whipping into her driveway.

Chris was in the front yard playing with Joey when Ajay jumped out and rushed around.

Chris came up, "What's wrong babe?"

"She's going throw up, help me get her inside." She said.

Chris took Aiden's hand and pulled her out of the vehicle. She fell into his arms. He held her tightly as he tried to get her to the door.

"Aiden, hold onto me okay." Chris said as he lifted her into his arms.

She pressed her face into his neck trying to keep herself from being sick.

Ajay closed the door and took Joey inside.

"Is A-Ten sick again Mommy?" Joey asked looking down the hallway at the closed bathroom door.

"Yeah, Mommy got her some medicine today that will hopefully make her feel better." She said taking out Aiden's pill bottle and reading the label.

One by mouth every eight hours.

Aiden was still throwing up as Chris held her hair and rubbed her back. When she was finished he wiped her mouth with a damp towel and gave hr some mouthwash to rinse with. She looked up at her pitiful reflection noticing Chris worried expression.

She dropped her eyes, "I'm sorry."

He put his hand on her back and could feel her crying. He pulled her into his arms.

"I'm scared." She whispered.

"I know, but we're here for you and Alex okay. If you need anything Ajay and I are here for you." He said kissing her cheek.

Ajay opened the door and saw Aiden in his arms with his lips against her cheek. She narrowed her eyes scornfully at Chris who immediately let Aiden go.

Her gaze softened when she looked back at Aiden, "Here take this, it's from your prescription."

Aiden took the pill and swallowed it.

"Alex called too. He was having a cow because you weren't home yet." Ajay informed.

"Yeah, I better get home to start dinner. Did ya'll want to come over?" she asked.

"Yeah, we'll be over in a little while. Alex insisted on coming to pick you up." Ajay said.

The doorbell rang a few seconds later.

"You are so overprotective you know that?" Ajay laughed as she opened the door for him to come in.

He rolled his eyes and went straight for Aiden, "Are you okay? She said you were sick."

Aiden nodded weakly, "Same old, same old, I'm pretty much used to it now."

"Thanks for looking out for her." Alex said, "We'll see you in a little while."

They both nodded.

"Joey!" Ajay groaned looking down at her son who had colored all over himself with markers, "Upstairs now!"

Chris smiled, Joey was hilarious sometimes.

"Be ready to go when I get him cleaned up okay?" Ajay asked.

Chris nodded and flopped down on the couch.

"Chris please?" Ajay whined.

"I'm ready!" he said.

"Will you bring my purse upstairs so I can re-do my makeup? He looks like he's in a splashing mood today." Ajay called as she went upstairs.

"He's always in that mood." Chris muttered laughing to himself as he picked up Ajay's purse.

He turned and tripped on one of Joey's toys sending her purse flying. He caught himself and grumbled looking at the scattered contents on the floor. He stooped to gather them. He had everything collected except for a brochure. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a brochure for Toxemia explaining the symptoms and risks of the disease. He scanned through his pulse quickening with each word he read. The dangers were scaring him to death. He took off up the stairs and ran into their bathroom.

"Ajay, what the fuck is this? When were you going to tell me?" he shouted.

"Chris!" She yelled outraged by his entrance.

"Ajay what the hell? Are you okay? I mean, are you gonna fucking die? Is our baby okay? Tell me what happened!" he continued to shout.

She saw Joey cower and reach out for her.

She pulled her son to her, "That's not mine."

"What do you mean that's not yours? It was in your purse! Who else's would it be?" Chris asked his voice strained with worry.

His mouth dropped open as realization set in.

He looked down at the brochure in his shaking hands, "Aiden?"

Ajay nodded slowly.

"Oh my God, I don't know if I should be relieved or what." He gasped.

"I feel the same way." Ajay said.

"Something else happened today…tell me what happened." Chris asked he could always tell if she was holding back on something.

"We ran into Bailey and Mollie at the mall and she was scared they were going to realize she was pregnant, luckily they didn't but we had a close call. Then Mollie and Aiden got into it and by then she was so stressed I had to drag her to the car and when we got there she passed out. I rushed her to the hospital and they diagnosed her with that." She explained.

"Does Alex know?" Chris wondered.

Ajay shook her head, "No."

"She's got to tell him. She can't keep doing this." He groaned.

"I know. I told her that but she is dead set on keeping it from him because she doesn't want to worry him." Ajay told him.

"Then why not just tell everybody they're married and she's pregnant?" he asked handing her a towel to dry Joey off with.

Ajay shrugged, "I asked that too, but she's afraid that will make it worse. She asked us not to say anything and I of course don't want to upset her, so I just left her alone about it."

Chris shook his head, "That really worries me. I don't like this at all."

"Yeah you worry about her a lot don't you?" Ajay said sharply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris asked.

"Joey go get dressed, I put your clothes on the bed." Ajay said.

He bounced out of the bathroom still wrapped in his towel.

Ajay crossed her arms and stared at Chris.

"Are you going to tell me?" He asked shrugging his shoulders.

"I just said that you worry about her a lot that's all." Ajay said.

"You won't let me worry about you. You've got to be independent Ajay, Miss-I-don't-need-anybody's-help. I just wish you would understand where I'm coming from." He said looking up at the ceiling.

"Then explain it to me Chris, go ahead." Ajay ordered, her temper flaring up.

"You are carrying my child. I would LOVE for you to call me a little more or answer your phone the first time I call so I know where you're at and what you're doing and with who. I want you to let me take care of you the way Alex gets to take care of Aiden." He pleaded.

"That's a little different. Aiden is sick all the time. She needs Alex to watch over her and baby her, I don't. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You knew this was how I was before I got pregnant, what made you think I was going to change?" she scoffed.

Chris looked disappointed, "Wanting to take care of my girlfriend and my baby is my nature, it's who I am. Don't get mad at me for worrying about Aiden if you won't let me worry about you."

"Whatever. Worry about whoever the hell you want to okay?" Ajay muttered.

She was getting slightly irritated by Chris' preference for Aiden.

Chris had always wanted a damsel to save. She was just going to have to keep a close eye on Chris and Aiden's relationship from here on out.__

* * *

_**hmmm....something is going on with that sabin boy don't you think?? let me know lovelies!!  
**_

_***well hopefully it goes without saying by now, i know NOTHING about pregnancies and i personally think they're gross...blah!! so if something doesn't seem right, it's probably not, but it's my story so meow :) lol *  
**_


	15. Drama In The Bahamas

_**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed!! Please enjoy!!**_

* * *

They arrived a little while later at Alex's house.

He answered the door, "Long time no see."

They all walked inside as Chris put Joey down.

"How's Aiden feeling?" he asked.

Alex frowned, "She's knocked out cold. Those pills cause drowsiness, so she didn't last long. I had to carry her in the house."

They walked into the living room to see Aiden curled up in the chaise.

Alex went to her and brushed her long bangs out of her eyes, "Baby, Ajay and Chris are here."

Her eyes opened slowly, "Hey."

"Hey Cookie! You can't be falling asleep on us." Ajay laughed.

Aiden's eyes were drooping, "I'll try not to."

"I'm going to go finish grilling the steaks okay baby?" Alex said kissing her forehead.

Her head lolled back against the cushion. Alex frowned sadly at her.

He was obviously worried, "I'll be outside."

Ajay turned to Chris who had the same expression as Alex.

"We've got to tell him how sick she really is. This is fucking crazy." He said heatedly.

"Keep you voice down. Think of how upset she'll be if we did tell him."

"I don't give a shit anymore! I can't sit here and watch her suffer. She's throwing up all the time because she's so worried about all of her secrets, and now she's practically in a coma because of the pills." Chris whispered furiously.

"Don't tell him, please?" Aiden's faint voice pleaded.

They both looked at her. Her eyes were closed as she tried to hold her head up.

"Aiden…" Chris called.

"No, don't. I'm begging you." She said.

"What about you? What about the baby?" Chris asked.

Her eyes opened then, hazy from the medicine, "Please?"

Chris looked at Ajay who gave him an I-told-you-so-look. Chris looked back at Aiden who was asleep again.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it." He said before going outside with Alex.

Ajay played with Joey while Alex finished cooking the steaks.

"Come and get it!" Alex yelled coming back inside when he was done.

"Cookie, it's time to eat." Ajay said gently shaking her awake.

"Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute." She said quietly.

They had all fixed their plates and were sitting at the table waiting on Aiden.

Alex went to her and kissed her lips, "Come on babe, dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry." She whispered as her eyes closed again.

"Yes you are, you've got to eat something. You can't skip meals remember?" Alex asked as he pulled her to her feet.

She followed him into the dining room and sat beside him. She ate a couple of bites but was still fighting to stay awake.

"So what are you going to do when we go to the Bahamas with everybody? Are you going to throw up the whole time or are you going to be a zombie?" Ajay asked.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

"Bailey booked a trip for all of us to go to the Bahamas for a couple of days, including Mollie. She told us today." Ajay informed.

Alex shook his head, "We just won't go. That's too big of a risk for them to see that she's pregnant."

"It's too late Bailey was going to go ahead and book it." Ajay said.

"There's no way we can pull this off." Alex huffed.

"You don't have a choice." Ajay said looking at Aiden who was slumped forward asleep again.

"This is NOT going to work." Alex argued.

**

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

* * *

**

They were all at the airport waiting to check in their bags. Aiden was trying to be calm but nothing was working she was eating saltine crackers and sipping on fruit cocktail juice trying to will herself not to throw up. Alex was sitting with her trying to be discreet about his worry for her. He could feel Mollie and Bailey staring holes through him. Finally it was time to board their flight.

Aiden leaned over to Alex, "I'm not going to make it the whole flight. I've got to take my medicine."

He nodded, "Take it when we get on the plane that way you can sleep the whole way there."

He squeezed her hand quickly as they got in line.

"Here are your tickets." Bailey smiled.

Alex didn't pay them any attention until they were looking for their seats, "You're right here…and I'm back there."

James came up to sit down "I'm sitting with you?"

Alex looked back at his seat to see Mollie right beside it. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Things were off to a bad start already.

"James switch with me okay?" Alex asked.

"Why?" he wondered.

"Because she gets sick on flights." He lied.

James put his arm around Aiden, "I'll take care of her."

"Sir, I need you to take a seat please." A stewardess said.

"There's been a mix-up. I'm supposed to be sitting with her not him."

She held out her hand for his ticket, "No your seat is back here, if you'll follow me."

He looked at Aiden who had gone pale again, he wasn't going to budge.

"It's okay; I'm just going to sleep anyways." She said quietly.

He blew out a frustrated breath as he went back to his seat. He forcefully shoved his bag into the over head compartment and sat in his seat.

Mollie watched him warily, "Did you want me to trade with Aiden?"

He cut his eyes at her, "No, this is what you wanted right? You wanted to sit with me, and Aiden to sit with James that was part of your little plan, I get it. You and Bailey are tagging up to keep me away from Aiden, it's cute really." He said sarcastically as he fished out his i-Pod.

Mollie shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms, "I'm sorry I wanted to sit with you on the plane ride over there Alex. I just figured I could spend a little bit of time with you because you'd be up her ass the whole time we were at the Bahamas."

He was silent as he scanned through his songs. He picked one and reclined his seat back some as he kept his eye on Aiden's seat since he couldn't see her. Mollie looked over at Bailey who was sitting close by and shook her head.

**

* * *

TWO HOURS LATER

* * *

**

Alex had been bouncing his knee non-stop since the flight took off. He had been killing himself thinking about all of the what ifs. He never fidgeted unless something was on his mind.

Mollie elbowed him, "Want to talk about it?"

He shook his head keeping his eyes forward.

"Why don't you just admit that you're together?" she questioned.

"Because we're not." He said curtly.

"Your actions are contradicting your words. You haven't taken your eyes off of her seat the entire time, she stays at your house when she's in town, you call her all the time when you're at tapings, so why don't you just admit it?" she asked.

"I'm not talking about this with you." He said even sharper.

Mollie sighed, "Well she's stupid if she hasn't forgiven you yet."

"Where is all of this coming from? Because the last time I saw you I was a 'low life piece of shit' end quote." He commented finally looking at her.

"You were. You cheated on me with that other dumb slut, so you deserved it." She shot back.

Alex smirked, "Yeah I did didn't I?"

She punched him gently in the arm, "Yes, you did."

He grew quiet again and trained his gaze back on Aiden's seat.

"I'm sorry." Mollie said quietly.

"For what?" He asked.

"For lying to you the other night, so I could come over." She admitted.

He was a little shocked; Mollie Jarrett didn't apologize about anything.

"It's okay." He answered.

"So you two aren't really together?" She asked again.

"No." he said.

Mollie laughed, "Why don't I believe you then?"

"I don't know when have you ever believed me about anything?" he asked.

"True, but I would if I had some proof. So how about a kiss for old times sake?" she smiled.

"She's sitting right up there? What if she sees us and gets pissed and then all of that time I've been trying to get her back gets wasted." He said looking at her.

"I knew it!" Mollie laughed, "I knew…"

Alex grabbed her and pressed his lips to hers roughly as his tongue violated her mouth. He kissed her long and hard before he pulled away leaving her breathless.

"Now will you leave me alone about it?" he growled.

She nodded her head with a sly smirk on her face. His stomach churned with the knowledge of what he'd just done. Mollie sat beside him smugly for the rest of the flight. When they landed he rushed to Aiden's seat. James had gotten up already.

He shook her gently, "Honey wake up, we're here."

Her eyes fluttered as she tried to push the fogginess of the pills out of her mind.

He sat beside her and whispered, "Come on baby, you've got to try to act normal."

She opened her eyes again this time she was able to keep them open with much effort.

He leaned forward and kissed her lips quickly.

Chris stopped in the aisle with Ajay, "Is she okay?"

Alex nodded slowly not being able to look away from Aiden.

"Alex grab your luggage and I'll help her." Ajay offered.

He reluctantly got up and walked with Chris. Ajay got Aiden out of her seat and off the plane. The rest of them were already waiting in the limo to be taken to their hotel.

"What's wrong with her?" Bailey asked narrowing her eyes at Aiden who was leaned against Alex asleep.

"She took some motion sickness pills and they made her sleepy." He said.

Bailey nodded. She was still not convinced that something wasn't going on. They got to the hotel and were given their room keys.

"So are we going to meet up for dinner?" Petey asked, "Say around eight?"

"Sure." Ajay agreed.

Alex nodded as he carried his and Aiden's luggage with him. Ajay ushered her into the elevator with Chris. They all sighed in relief as the doors closed.

"She's been asleep the entire time." Ajay said taking off Aiden's sunglasses to reveal her closed eyes.

They got off the elevator. Chris and Ajay carried the luggage as Alex carried Aiden. They went into their suite and Alex when to the bedroom. He laid her down on the plush bed. He had a hand on her stomach as he looked at her face. She was completely knocked out cold. He kissed her cheek and then her stomach.

"Is she okay?" Ajay asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, she's not going to be able to make it to dinner thought. Those damn pills don't wear off for another three hours." He said looking at his watch.

They were supposed to meet up in an hour. Alex lay beside her and held her hand.

They could make it through this. They _had_ to make it through this.

* * *

An hour later Ajay and Chris knocked on their door.

"Lex are you going to come?" Ajay asked.

He shook his head, "I don't think so. I'll just get room service later when she wakes up."

She nodded, "We'll be back."

Chris lingered at the doorway watching as Alex hovered over Aiden. Ajay would never let him do that.

He caught up with Ajay at the elevator, "I feel bad for them."

Ajay sighed, "I know you do."

He looked at her quickly, "You don't?"

Ajay shrugged, "I do, but I just wish she would stop being so stubborn and just tell Bailey what's going on."

Chris laughed,"That's funny, you telling somebody not to be stubborn."

She pushed him, "Shut up."

They walked into the lobby.

"Where's Alex?" Mollie asked.

"He stayed with Aiden, she still didn't feel good." Ajay said.

Mollie rolled her eyes, "Great I wasted this outfit for nothing."

James came up behind her and hugged and kissed her neck, "No you didn't darling, I think you look hot!"

"James!" she screeched as he pulled her with him to the bar.

Bailey went to Ajay, "So what's up with them like officially because I know you know."

Ajay put a hand on her belly feeling her baby move. She grabbed Chris' hand to let him feel. He loved to feel her move.

"They are working things out, nothing is official, but it's getting better." She lied.

"So they're not dating?" Bailey questioned.

"Why do you want to know?" Ajay wondered.

"For Mollie, she's been wanting to get back with him." Bailey said.

"Uh-huh, you or Mollie? I know how you are about Alex. Even after everything that's happened you still believe that he belongs to you don't you?" Ajay challenged.

Bailey laughed nervously, "I don't think that way. I am trying to hook him up with Mollie after all."

Ajay looked at her friend knowing she was lying. She knew that she had been less than happy with Petey lately as well because of his heavy work load. She could say whatever she wanted to but Ajay knew the truth. Aiden was in the middle of the ocean, wounded, and two sharks were circling waiting for the kill. With Mollie and Bailey gunning for Alex she wasn't entirely sure that his relationship with Aiden would survive.

* * *

After dinner they returned to their rooms. Ajay went to Alex and Aiden's room. The TV was on and muted casting a glow over the sleeping couple. Aiden was on her back and Alex was curled into her with his hand on her stomach.

"So far so good." Chris smiled kissing Ajay's cheek, "Want to go for a walk?"

She glared at him and then her stomach and then back up at him.

"A very short, very pregnant, walk on the moonlit beach, please?" he grinned.

"Okay." She giggled.

When they got back Alex and Aiden were sitting in the living room watching TV.

"So you finally decided to join us?" Chris joked sitting down.

"Finally." She smiled.

"And she's hungry! I think we got it figured out. We're waiting on room service and then as soon as she gets done eating she'll take her medicine that way she'll keep her food down and not be sick in the morning. Maybe we can go to the beach, or go…"Alex said eagerly.

He wanted so badly for her to have a good time.

"Whoa, let's see if it works before we start making plans." Aiden said as her stomach growled loudly, "I'm about to starve."

Ajay smiled, "You don't look so fragile today. I think that's a good idea that you came up with."

"Thank you." Alex said as he went to answer the door.

"Just put it over there with her." Alex instructed as two hotel staffers unloaded their cart that was filled with plates of food.

"Enjoy." They smiled as they left.

"Did you get one of everything?" Chris laughed.

"Alex picked all of this out. I messed up and told him he could choose." Aiden smiled as she went for her salad first.

Alex took it out of her hands, "No ma'am, start with this."

He put a plate of teriyaki chicken and wild rice in front of her.

She poked out her lip, "But I want my salad."

He shook his head, "I'm eating it. You need something more than lettuce so eat that and then the potatoes."

Chris looked at Ajay longingly, "Why won't you let me do that?"

"Because I would kill you that's why." She smiled.

They talked and watched TV as Aiden slowly made her way through the food that Alex gave to her.

When she was finally done she leaned back on the couch, "I'm so full."

Alex took the last bite of sorbet before he kissed her, "I'm so happy you actually ate well for once."

Aiden stood up and lifted her shirt to show her stomach that was sticking out more than usual.

"Now I really look pregnant." She laughed.

Ajay stood next to her with her stomach showing, "Still got a ways to go to catch up."

Suddenly Aiden's eyes grew wide and she gasped. Chris and Alex were on their feet immediately.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked

She was silent, her hands splayed on her belly.

She gasped again and Alex almost came out of his skin, "**WHAT!?**"

She took both of his hands and put them on her stomach.

Her tear filled eyes looked up at him, "She's moving."

Alex stared at her until he felt his daughter shift under his hands.

Tears spilled down Aiden's cheeks as she laughed, "Did you feel her?"

He nodded slowly. The baby moved again before finally settling down. Alex's eyes were filled with tears as he pulled her into his arms. Ajay went to Chris' side to let them have their moment.

Alex pulled back looking down at Aiden.

Tears fell down his face, "It's like she wasn't real before now. I never thought I would ever get to experience that. She, you, well both of you are completely amazing." He stumbled.

He bent and kissed her lips before he sat down on the couch and turned Aiden to him where her belly was facing him.

He kissed it all over, "Are you laughing at Daddy crying? I love you so much little baby girl, and I love your mommy so much too."

He put his ear to her belly, "What? You said to tell Mommy thanks for not eating that salad? You said to tell her you're tired of salads? I'll let her know. Cross your fingers if you have them that mommy doesn't get sick in the morning, be a good girl okay? I love you."

Aiden sat in his lap kissing him.

"That was the cutest Alex Shelley moment I've ever seen. I never knew this side of you existed." Ajay said sniffing a bit.

Chris kissed Ajay's cheek with a silly grin on his face, "I taught him that."

Alex rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, I schooled you that's how you got Ajay in the first place."

Ajay laughed, "Chris did not need your help at all thank you very much."

Alex smiled, "Come on lets go take your medicine. See you in the morning."

He held Aiden's hand as they went back to their room.

"Think it's going to work?" Chris asked kissing Ajay as she snuggled into him.

"I hope so for Cookie's sake." She whispered.

* * *

_**Aww...cute huh? let me know what you think....hmmm....think Mollie's going to keep her and Alex's kiss a secret? **_

_**Stay tuned :)  
**_


	16. Beach Blow Up

_**Super LONG chapter for all of my lovely readers who are awesome!! Enjoy the drama there's more to come :)**_

* * *

Aiden woke up; her eyes fluttering open the next morning.

Alex looked up at her from where he was hovering over her belly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

She yawned, "What are you doing?"

"I was holding you and I felt her move around again. She's been kicking all morning." He smiled.

Aiden winced as she felt a sharp kick, "I see that."

Alex pressed his lips to her stomach, "You haven't felt her?"

She shook her head, "No, those pills knock me out."

Alex frowned a little, "How are you feeling?"

She smiled, "Hungry again. I want some fruit, especially pineapple and some eggs and some toast with strawberry jelly."

Alex laughed, "I'm glad. You really don't know how happy that makes me to hear you say that."

He put his ear to her stomach again, "She wants to know if she can order some juice and milk too?"

Aiden giggled and nodded.

He crawled up to her and held her in his arms, "I love you Aiden so much, do you know that? You make me so happy."

She pressed her cheek into his warm bare chest, "You make me so happy too, I love you and thank you for our baby."

"I wish things were better for you. I wish there was something we could do to make you feel better." He said into her hair.

He loved how she always smelled like vanilla and lavender.

"I'd rather me be sick than her. I'm just thankful that nothing has gone wrong with her." She said.

"Me too. I'm going to go order your breakfast okay?" he said, "You sit here and relax. I'll be back."

He pulled the covers up around her before he went to the living room part of the suite. Chris was trudging out of his room at the same time.

"You on breakfast duty too?" he asked sleepily.

"Yep." Alex smiled.

"What are you so happy about?" Chris grumbled as he looked at the menu with Alex.

"I think my plan is working. She hasn't thrown up and she's ready to eat again, she hasn't done that since she got pregnant. And I felt the baby move again, it's a good start to the day already." He said optimistically.

"Good I'm glad she's feeling better." Chris said.

* * *

After they ate breakfast together they got a knock on the door. Bailey, Mollie, Petey and James all walked in dressed in their bathing suits.

"You just got done eating breakfast?" Bailey asked incredulously.

"Yes, and I hate both of you right now." Ajay said pointing at Bailey and Mollie.

"Oh you're pregnant not fat and if anybody says anything I'll beat the shit out of them." Mollie said sitting beside Alex.

Aiden gritted her teeth on the couch where she had retreated to hide behind one of the large throw pillows.

"Bay and Petey are going parasailing and James and I are going on a party cruise, what are you going to do?" Mollie asked.

"Well neither of those sound very appealing to me so I think I'll just beach myself somewhere and relax." Ajay said, "Did you want to go with them Chris?"

He shook his head, "I'll stay with you"

Mollie turned to Alex, "Come with me and James, please?"

Alex hesitated glancing at Aiden on the couch.

Mollie leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I'll let you do some body shots off of me."

He felt her tongue flick his ear lobe. He was very uncomfortable with Mollie hanging all over him with his pregnant wife sitting on the couch.

"I don't know. What did you want to do Aiden?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I'll probably just hang out on the beach, I'm scared of heights and I don't want to get sick again so don't think I should drink either."

Mollie pulled Alex's face back to hers, "So are you going to go with us?"

"I'll think about it." Alex said getting up.

He went to the couch with Aiden to help block her from the rest of the group as they went to their room.

"Obvious much Moll?" Ajay accused glaring at her.

"What? He said they weren't together." She laughed.

"She was sitting right there and it's not like they don't want to be." Chris spoke up.

"Sorry I forgot everybody was_ 'Team Aiden'_. James are you ready to go?" Mollie huffed.

"I'm already there baby." He laughed.

Petey looked at his watch, "I guess we need to go too. We'll come find you when we get done."

Bailey smiled as she and Petey left.

Ajay went to Alex and Aiden's room with Chris right behind her and knocked before going in.

Alex was lying in the middle of the bed with Aiden between his legs curled into his chest. He cradled her like she was a child, his lips kissing the top of her head.

Ajay went and sat on the bed, "Are you okay?"

Aiden's eyes were shimmering with un-cried tears, as she nodded.

"She wants what she can't have; don't let her get to you Cookie. You've got him, I don't know why you want Skunk Man, but you do. He's yours so don't let her mess your good day okay?" Ajay smiled.

Alex chuckled at Ajay's comments.

"Let's get ready and go to the beach and get out of this room." Chris suggested.

* * *

A little while later after they had all changed they came out to the living room area.

"Aww…I'm so glad I made you buy that bathing suit, it's so cute!" Aiden smiled at Ajay.

She had on a baby blue tankini with silver beads on the strings.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the cutest little whale you ever did see." She muttered sarcastically.

"I think you look sexy." Chris said coming behind her and rubbing her stomach.

"I appreciate you lying to me I really do." Ajay said.

Chris chuckled in her ear, "I'm not lying to you."

"Whatever." Ajay said, "At least Cookie's cute."

"Yeah she is." Alex smirked kissing her cheek.

Aiden blushed as she handed Alex her sunscreen, "Will you put some on me?'

"You do have a cover up I hope." Chris said looking at Aiden's red frilly bikini.

"Yeah I do." She smiled.

Alex pulled off his shirt for Aiden to put sunscreen on him.

"Let's go." She said when she was done.

They found a spot on the beach and procured two large umbrellas.

"That water is beautiful." Ajay sighed.

Chris pulled on her to go into the surf, "We'll be back."

Alex and Aiden sat down on their towels. Aiden laid back to catch some rays before she would have to cover up again. Alex pulled out his camera and snapped several shots of her.

"What are you doing?" She laughed.

"I had to capture that moment, it was the first time you looked completely at ease since you got pregnant." He said.

"It's because of you. You put me at ease by taking such good care of me." She smiled.

"I would do anything for you. I've never told anybody in my life that, but I really would do anything for you babe." He told her.

He leaned down and kissed her gently before he lay out beside her. Chris and Ajay came back laughing a half an hour later.

Alex pulled Aiden up to her feet, "Our turn."

They waded out till they were in waist deep water then Aiden dove under a wave and resurfaced further out. Alex swam out to her grabbing her ankle and making her scream. He laughed when he came to the surface. Aiden floated on her back as Alex supported her in his arms. They talked about nursery themes and baby names and childhood memories while they enjoyed the cool water.

"Weee're back!!" James slurred as he, Mollie, Bailey, and Petey sat in the shade.

"Well how was it?" Chris asked.

"Scary! We were so far up it was crazy! I thought the cord was going to break and we were going to float off." Bailey gushed.

"It was cool seeing all the beaches, and sharks and stuff." Petey chimed in.

"I take it you two had just as much fun?" Ajay said smiling at the obviously drunk James and Mollie.

"Body shots gaaalore!!" James laughed.

"Ahh…good thing I'm pregnant then huh?" Ajay laughed.

James had quite the fetish of trying to get the girls drunk when they hung out with him.

"Where's Alex?" Mollie asked.

"Out there with Aiden." Chris pointed to the water.

Alex had her pulled close to him as they made out.

The sight stung Mollie, just yesterday he said they weren't together so how was it now that they were making out in the glistening water? She sighed deeply as she lay out. It was far from over, she could win Alex back in a heartbeat, she knew she could.

Out in the water Aiden pulled away from Alex, "We've got an audience."

"I don't care. Maybe they'll take the hint and leave me the hell alone." He said kissing her eagerly.

"Lex, you're going to get all worked up and then what?" She sighed as he kissed her neck.

"I've got something in mind." He grinned as he pulled out his shaft and pressed it to her center.

She gasped when she realized what he was doing. Before she could tell him no he was already inside of her. Her brow furrowed at his size moving in her.

He hissed and closed his eyes as he buried his head into her neck, "You need to be pregnant all the time."

"Why?' She moaned as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I didn't think sex with you could get any better. But I was wrong. It's even better now that you're pregnant." He said putting a hand on her lower back to keep her still as he rocked his hips into hers.

He was letting the motion of the water guide his movements. He felt her squeeze his shoulders and whimper.

He stopped immediately, "Are you okay?"

He looked down at her swollen stomach that was pressed against his abs.

"She moved at the same time you hit that spot I love." She smiled biting his bottom lip, "I want it faster."

Alex cocked his eyebrow at her and jerked his body into hers, "Like that?"

She bit her lip to stifle her scream. He pulled her flush to his body and started talking dirty to her in her ear. Her small noises that he loved filled his head.

"Alex!" She cried, her voice trembling with her orgasm.

He snapped his hips into hers wanting to feel her, all of her. Just as she was on the brink of a third orgasm he couldn't hold out any longer.

"Fuck Aiden!!" He moaned, she was so deliciously tight it blew his mind.

He shuddered as he came into her and bit her neck gently to stop his loud moans. She pulled back from him when he was done and smiled. His eyes were heavy lidded and his mouth was hanging open awkwardly.

She kissed him and nibbled his ear, "I love you."

He pulled out of her and fixed his shorts," I love you too, that was incredible."

She grinned but then frowned, "How am I going to get my cover up?"

"I'll go get you a towel and you can cover up with it, and then put on your other one." He suggested.

She nodded, kissing him before he swam back to shore. She went under the water to smooth her hair back before she started swimming back to the shore as well. He met her in the water and wrapped the towel around her.

"Heads up, Bailey and Mollie are pissed." He told her putting his arm around her as they went to where everybody was sitting.

She felt the stares immediately.

"Hey Shell, you up for some two on two?" Petey asked tossing a football into the air.

Alex smirked at Chris, "You're going down Pan Man."

Petey looked taken aback, "Why do you say that?"

"You've got a drunk cowboy on your team." Chris pointed out.

Petey looked over at James who had a beer in both of his hands, "Hey James, if we win I'll pay your bar tab tonight."

"Sheeit!! Bring it Motor City Morons!!" James said standing up.

"This is going to be so easy." Alex said shaking his head.

"Whatever, both you pretty boys better call your mamas because Jimmy James is taking you to school today." He said, swinging his arms in circles to loosen up.

"I'm going to get back in the water, I'm getting too hot." Ajay said getting up.

"I'll go with you." Bailey said.

Aiden pulled on her light grey tunic making sure to keep her baby hidden from Mollie. She buried her toes in the sand as she watched the boys play football and laughed to herself as Chris and Alex did a touchdown dance in front of Petey and James.

"He's funny isn't he?" Mollie asked reclined back on her elbows, her perfect body glowing in the sun.

Aiden didn't reply as she pulled on her sunglasses.

"He would always know exactly the right thing to say or do to make me laugh when I was having a bad day." She reminisced, "Does he do that with you?'

Aiden nodded her mouth twitching into a smile.

"And that body…well you know what I'm talking about." She continued, a smile forming on her lips as well, "The way he uses his hands, soft and firm at the same time, and those rock hard abs, and his chest, I swear I could sleep on it forever."

Aiden kept her eyes on her husband as she tapped her finger impatiently. Mollie was pushing her and she knew she had to stay calm.

"And the things he does in bed…makes me want to jump his ass right now." She giggled.

"What's your point? I know all of that Mollie; you know I do, so if you've got something to say just say it." Aiden snapped.

Mollie laughed, it hadn't been hard at all to break the little bitch. She knew exactly how to stalk her victims, they were all the same. They thought they knew the real Alex Shelley, they thought they could trust his lies and that's how they all ended up his ex's. None of them knew Alex the way she did, that's why she was always the last bitch standing. She knew what it took to be with Alex, that's why he always kept coming back to her. She was the one that knew how to handle him, not this spoiled rotten prissy diva. Aiden and Alex had nothing in common, which is why it was so surprising to Mollie that they had lasted as long as they had.

"I'm just trying to explain to you why I'm not giving up without a fight. Alex is one of a kind, and he's everything a girl could want, that's why I'm not backing down." Mollie said.

Aiden had been holding her breath to keep from screaming at the rude girl.

"I don't care what you do Mollie. It doesn't concern me at all." she said.

Mollie's face grew surprised, "Really? It doesn't concern you that Alex kissed me on the plane ride over here to prove to me that the two of you weren't actually together? I would be worried about that if I were you. If he was so taken by you and trying his best to win you back he wouldn't have taken it upon himself to kiss me. He's keeping his options open and just to be fair I think you should too."

Aiden took a hit from Mollie's words. They were an uppercut she wasn't expecting. She wasn't terribly upset that Alex had kissed Mollie; she was more upset that he didn't tell her.

"Not so sure about him now are you honey?" she asked with fake sweetness.

Aiden's lip trembled. She could feel the stirrings of her stomach getting upset again as well. She grabbed her bag and her flip flops.

"I don't feel very well I'm going back to the room." She said.

Mollie smirked, this girl was too easy. She didn't even **WANT** to fight back.

"Aiden, you're not going to win this. You don't belong in our world Alex does _NOT_ want some crybaby that he has to watch over, that's just not his style. So why don't you go ahead, pack your shit and head back to Paris and leave the real men that you don't deserve alone?" She asked.

She didn't have to be nice; she thought she was being very generous by giving the girl a way out of this without getting embarrassed. She gave them all that chance.

Aiden looked back at Alex who was completely oblivious to her problem with Mollie. Ajay was talking with Bailey in the ocean. She had to deal with Mollie by herself.

"Again Mollie, I don't care what you think. I think the reason Alex hasn't found somebody great is because he's got people like you and Bailey who block his happiness for you own selfish agendas and when he realizes that he's going to hate you. So try and push me away if you want to but you may end up hurting Alex in the long run. Unlike you, I care about his happiness and his future." She told her.

"And Bailey and I don't? You're only acting like hot shit because Alex and Ajay are here to protect you, but I bet you wouldn't say that shit if it were just us girls talking." Mollie threatened.

Tears fell down Aiden's face, "Then end result would still be the same, Alex would still want me and you'd still be a selfish bitch with a big mouth to compensate for your lack of compassion."

Mollie was on her feet in an instant. Nobody talked to her that way and got away with it, **NOBODY.**

"The** FUCK **did you just say? You don't know me, so don't make any snotty little comments about me." Mollie said shoving Aiden back.

Aiden bit her lip as furious tears sprang to her eyes. Under normal circumstances Aiden would have defended herself, or at least tried to, but in this particular situation her flight response had kicked in. For her unborn child, she knew she had to leave before Mollie really flew off the handle.

Aiden raised her chin defiantly, "You're right, I don't know you, nor do I want to, so let's just leave it at that."

She choked on her words out of fear and anger and she hated herself for it. She turned on her heel and walked briskly back to the hotel.

Mollie smiled as she lay back out on her stomach. She untied the string of her bikini top and rested her chin on her folded hands. That stupid girl didn't stand a chance.

* * *

A few minutes later Bailey and Ajay came walking back to the umbrellas.

"Where's Aiden?" Ajay asked, instantly worried about her friend.

She'd been hanging around Alex's overprotective ass for too long.

Mollie shrugged, "She said she was tired or whatever."

Ajay didn't buy it for a second, "She would have told me or Alex if she were leaving."

"Ahh...yes, she would have let her _chaperones _know if she were going to leave. How old is she _four_?" Mollie asked sarcastically.

"Did you say something to her?" Ajay asked cutting straight to the point.

Mollie scoffed.

"What did you say?" Ajay asked, she was very quickly losing her patience but she needed to know where Aiden had gone.

"We were talking about Alex and she got all upset and started talking shit so I shoved her and told her to shut up." Mollie said casually.

"**YOU WHAT!?**" Ajay screamed surprising both Mollie and Bailey.

"Who cares? She was fine, it's not like I punched her in the face or something." Mollie said tying her bikini top back and sitting up on her knees, "But if she runs that smart mouth of hers again I will."

Ajay got in Mollie's face then and pointed her finger in it to make it clear how serious she was, "If you **EVER** put your hands on her again or even **THINK** about doing so you will have to deal with me Mollie Jarrett and I will not be held responsible for what I would do to you and I don't give a **DAMN **about the consequences."

"Ajay, what the hell?" Bailey questioned.

She'd never seen this side of her before and they had been friends for awhile.

"I don't even know you anymore. You're not even yourself anymore, your Aiden's little puppet, her little guard dog." Mollie said not backing down.

There weren't many people that were brave enough to stand up to Ashton Reso but Mollie was definitely one of those people.

Ajay shoved Mollie causing her to stumble backwards.

"You want to push people around? Well pick on your own size Mollie. That's really low of you to attack that poor girl." Ajay yelled.

"You better be glad you're pregnant right now because I_ swear_ I would beat your ass if you weren't!!" Mollie yelled back.

Ajay shoved her again, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

Bailey jumped in front of Mollie who looked like she was going to jump all over Ajay.

Chris came up behind Ajay pulling her back, "What's wrong? Why did you push Mollie?"

"Because she pushed Cookie first!" Ajay said.

Alex looked between Ajay and Mollie, "Where is she?"

"Probably back in the room." Ajay said.

Alex glared at Mollie as he jogged past her to go find Aiden.

"Seriously Ajay, what's gotten into you?" Bailey asked.

"Aiden is my friend and you're not going to do that to her, I won't let you." She replied.

"_So are we!_ We were your friends first and we never see you anymore because you're always stuck up that girl's ass. What happened to you Ajay?" Mollie shouted as James kept an arm around her waist.

"I'm the only one that gave her a chance and I'm glad I did. She's a really cool person and we have a lot more in common than you would think." Ajay said, "Let's go Chris. I need to take a shower before the cookout tonight."

They grabbed their stuff and headed back to the hotel.

Chris glanced over at Ajay, "Babe, you can't overreact like that while you're pregnant. You've got to take care of yourself and not getting into fights would be at the top of that list."

"Mollie pushed Aiden, she **PUSHED** her Chris, I'm not going to stand around and let her get away with that." Ajay informed.

"What?" Chris asked, both surprise and worry in his eyes.

Ajay nodded, "I just hope she's okay. She was gone before I saw her."

"I have a feeling we're gonna wish we had just stayed home." Chris muttered under his breath.

* * *

_**Raise your hand if you agree with Chris...all of you? Very good class, you would be correct :) This is NOT even the worst of it!!**_

_**Please review, I LOVE to hear from you (and it makes me update faster :) xoxo Thanks!!  
**_


	17. Looks Can Be Deceiving

_**This ladies and gentlemen would be the chapter before the ish hits the fan...please enjoy accordingly :) thanks to kennedy, demi, and dee for reviewing!!**_

* * *

"Aiden?" Alex called coming into the room.

He closed the door and strained his ears to listen for her. He went into their bedroom, she wasn't in bed. He looked through the curtains to their balcony, she wasn't there either. Finally he found her in the bathroom. She was wrapped in a towel, her wet hair brushed back away from her face. She was sitting cross legged on the countertop applying her make up.

He went behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Are you okay?"

Aiden pulled away and continued putting on her eye shadow. Alex took a step away from her in shock. She'd never pulled away from him before.

"Aiden, talk to me." He asked putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Did you kiss Mollie on the plane?" She asked stopping what she was doing and staring at his reflection in the mirror.

His tongue ran across his teeth before he closed his mouth and nodded. He dropped his eyes to the floor in obvious disgust with himself. When he looked back up Aiden was still staring at him with her intense whiskey eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

She went back to her makeup, "Were you going to tell me?"

He put his hands on his hips and dropped his eyes again.

"I take that as a no." She said.

"I just, I didn't want to upset you." He said.

Chris and Ajay had just gotten up to the room and were standing at the bedroom door listening to their conversation.

"So you thought that me finding out from Mollie would be less upsetting than finding out from my husband?" Aiden yelled.

Alex steeled his jaw; he knew he was in trouble then. She rarely ever raised her voice, and almost never at him. Chris and Ajay both looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"No. I don't know what I was thinking." Alex said.

"I do. You were thinking that you weren't even going to tell me and that scares the hell out of me Alex. I have every reason to doubt you, every reason in the world, but I force myself not to because I love you more than your past. I love you more than that," she said as tears welled up in her eyes, "I'm not going to cry anymore. I'm so sick of crying."

Alex put an arm around her waist and one around her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry. I really didn't want to upset you" He murmured into her hair.

"You didn't, Mollie did. She said things that I let get to me and I shouldn't have." She stated.

"What did she say?" he asked.

Aiden shook her head, "Just that you were keeping your options open and that you didn't want a whiny cry baby like me."

She looked up and saw him grit his teeth in anger.

"She used to know me. She doesn't anymore. I love that you show your emotions, I'm not one of those guys that take hints very well I need to be told what you want, so I appreciate that you do that. I married you not her. I wouldn't trade my life with you for anything. You're having my beautiful baby girl, why would I want anything else?" he asked.

"Bailey had Riley." She pointed out.

He shook his head, "I didn't marry her either. Bailey's not you. The only reason I kissed Mollie was because she was bugging me for proof that we weren't together, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

"Will you make me a promise?" she asked.

"Anything." He said without hesitation.

"If anything else happens, do you promise that you will tell me?" she asked looking at him in the mirror.

"Absolutely, don't you think we should start dating soon so I can at least kiss you and hold your hand when we're with them?" he smiled caressing her belly.

"Soon, but not yet, maybe when we get back home." She grinned, "Take your shower so we won't be late. And Chris and Ajay you can stop listening now."

They poked their heads in the bathroom in shock.

"You're going to be a good mommy." Ajay winked before she and Chris ducked out.

Alex laughed as he undressed and stepped into the shower.

* * *

After they had gotten cleaned up and changed they headed down to the hotel lobby to meet up with the others. They had reserved a table for the hotel cookout and show where they would have dancing and music.

They all sat down, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Mollie leaned over from her seat beside Alex, "You look really hot tonight."

He ignored he rand put his arm around Aiden, "What are you going to order?"

Mollie wet her lips in frustration.

"That looks good." Ajay pointed to something on her menu across the table and showied it to Aiden.

Mollie figured she'd try with Ajay, "I like how you did your hair Ajay."

Chris leaned over looking at the menu with Ajay who did not even look up to acknowledge her.

Mollie nodded her head, "So that's how it's going to be because of_ her_?"

Aiden was the only one who was looking at Mollie; the other three continued ignoring her.

Bailey shook her head in disgust, how they all loved their precious little Aiden. Enough to forget who their real friends were.

"Really? You're not going to acknowledge me because I got into a fight with _her_?" Mollie asked again.

Petey being the oldest, always tried to be the level headed peace keeper, "Come on guys we all went on this trip to have fun not to fight and argue."

"Tell her that." Alex stated still looking at his menu.

Mollie sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, she was beyond pissed that the evil fairy bitch had waved her wand and got her former friends on her side.

"Alright how about this, what would have to happen to make this afternoon a dead issue so we can move forward and have a good time tonight?" Petey asked.

"She needs to apologize to Aiden." Ajay said.

"Sincerely." Chris added glaring at Mollie.

"And Aiden would have to accept her apology if she feels that it was good enough." Alex finalized.

Petey nodded his head, "Will you do that Moll?"

Mollie was looking at the table; her eyes were filled with humiliated tears. She could not believe her friends were siding with that nobody!

She blew out an angry breath and rolled her eyes, "Fine! I'm sorry if you thought that I was being mean but I was only telling the truth…"

"Hell no, I don't think so." Ajay interrupted, her eyes burning with anger.

"Start over." Chris ordered.

Alex rolled his eyes and shook his head at Mollie's stubbornness.

He looked over at Aiden who looked so tiny and fragile in her short white flowing strapless dress. He took her hand in his not surprised to feel it shaking.

"Come on darlin' just apologize." James coaxed.

Tears fell as she stared at the sky, "I'm sorry for saying what I did and that it hurt your feelings."

"And?" Ajay prompted.

"And I'm sorry for pushing you. I shouldn't have done that." Mollie finished.

"Aiden, do you accept her apology?" Petey asked as he looked down the table at her.

Aiden blushed scarlet at everyone's eyes shifted to her.

She nodded, "Thank you for apologizing Mollie."

"So everybody's good now?" Petey asked a smile forming on his face.

The whole table nodded. Mollie got up and went to the bar.

"You didn't have to do that." Aiden said in a hushed voice.

"Yeah we did. It wasn't right and she needed to apologize." Ajay replied.

"She could have done better than that." Chris muttered.

"I agree, but it hurt her pride to have to do that so it was good enough." Alex said kissing Aiden's cheek.

Bailey put her napkin on the table, "I'm going to check on Mollie."

She walked across the torch lit path to the outdoor bar and sat on the bar stool beside her friend.

"You okay?" Bailey smiled.

Mollie had stopped crying but still looked furious, "You weren't kidding about how attached they are to her. I felt like I was in the fucking lions den. All three of them were all over my shit."

Bailey sipped her daiquiri she ordered, "I tried to tell you she's the little chosen one now."

"I can't believe Ajay, she and I have always been so close." Mollie continued.

"Tell me about it." Bailey agreed, "I still want to know why. Why have they circled up around her? I mean Alex isn't even with her so what is the deal?"

Mollie shrugged, "I don't know but I give up. I'm tired of butting my head against the wall."

Bailey looked over at her, "Let me talk to Aiden and see what I can get out of her, don't give up yet, okay Moll?"

Mollie nodded.

"I've got an idea." Bailey smiled suddenly.

A few moments later the girls came back to the table with a round of shots for everyone.

They passed them out and raised theirs, "To having a great trip from here on out."

Bailey kept her eyes on Aiden as she threw back her shot. Aiden gave hers to Alex who downed it as well.

"We need to keep those coming. I fell like getting drunk tonight." Alex smiled, "Petey, you down?"

Petey nodded signaling for the waiter.

"Perfect." Mollie smiled to Bailey.

* * *

After they had eaten, Petey, James, Alex and Mollie went to the bar.

Chris and Ajay were slow dancing leaving Bailey alone with Aiden whom she'd been scrutinizing all night. She went and sat in Alex's seat.

"I'm really glad that you decided to come with us." Bailey smiled.

"Me too." Aiden replied, "How are the twins?"

"They're fine, and Riley too, she's having a good time with her grandmother." She answered.

"That's good." Aiden said.

"Have you and Alex talked about having any kids together?" Bailey asked.

Aiden choked on her water looking back at Bailey.

"N-N-No, I mean we're still not officially back together yet. We've never discussed having kids, that's kind of far off. Why did you ask?"

"Well I noticed you weren't drinking and I've been trying to rack my brain how you've got Alex, Chris and Ajay wrapped around your little finger. That was the only thing I could come up with." She told her.

Aiden was panicking inside.

"No, I knew that Alex wanted to get drunk so I figured that I needed to stay sober to take care of him. I'm not really a drinker anyways. And I guess Ajay and Chris and I became friends when she found out she was pregnant. We've been hanging out a lot, decorating her nursery, and shopping. I guess she wanted my opinion on her little girls accessories and stuff." She laughed nervously, "I told them they didn't have to do that with Mollie, it didn't really matter to me."

Bailey nodded her head slowly, "So you're not pregnant?"

Aiden laughed, "Would I be wearing this mini dress if I were? No, I'm not Bailey, Alex and I are still working things out and we use protection so there's nothing to worry about."

Bailey was convinced then, "Okay, I'm sorry for grilling you I was just wondering. So do you think you'll get back with him?"

Aiden shrugged, "I don't know it's like one minute I want to and then he does stuff like that that makes me reconsider."

Bailey looked over at the bar where all the guys were cheering Alex on as he lifted Mollie and downed a shot from the glass that was tucked between her breasts. He put her back down and pecked her lips with a huge smile on his face.

Bailey cringed a little even though she was more than thrilled with Mollie's impeccable timing.

"I see what you mean." She said, "That's Alex for you. He's always been a player and probably always will be."

Aiden was taking deep breaths, the sickness that had been plaguing her since that afternoon was finally catching up to her. She was going to have to leave soon before she threw up, she knew it was coming.

Alex stumbled over and pulled a chair up on the other side of Aiden, "Hey baaaby."

She looked at him obviously less than thrilled, "Hey yourself."

Petey grabbed Bailey's arm and pulled her to the dance floor.

"Whatsamatter gorgeous?" he asked leaning over and kissing her.

"What was that about at the bar?" she questioned.

"I was just doing a shot that's all. We're not supposed to be together remember?" he said.

"You're right. Bailey was asking me a lot of questions so it's probably better if you act this way." Aiden thought out loud.

"You know I love you and only you. I'm just trying to protect you and our baby you know?" Alex slurred.

"Shhh….I'm going to go back up to the room; I don't fell well at all. I think I need to go ahead and take my medicine anyways. Will you please behave and don't make me worry about you?" she pleaded.

He nodded, "Of course, did you want me to go with you?"

She shook her head, "No, I've got to go though. I love you baby."

"I love you too. I'll check on you later." He said kissing her.

She got up slowly she had a bad feeling for some reason, something other than the sickness.

Alex looked up at her and obvious question mark on his face, "I promise I'll be good."

Aiden bit her lip, "I don't care if you kiss her that will get Bailey off of me some, but please nothing else okay?"

He kissed her again as he nodded. She left without another word.

* * *

As soon as she got to the room she rushed to the bathroom barely making it before emptying the contents of her stomach. It had been a long time before she'd had so much food in her that she heaved for several minutes before she was done. She went to the sink and wiped her mouth before she brushed her teeth. She knew she was going to call it an early night because once she started throwing up there was no stopping it and she'd be in a coma if she took her pills. She took off her make up and rubbed lotion all over herself before changing into a navy blue and white striped baby doll camisole and white boy shorts.

She opened up the doors to her balcony letting the warm breeze embrace her. She tried to enjoy it as she sat down on the comfy lounge chair. She stared up at the moon as she ran a hand over her stomach slowly. Her thoughts drifted to Alex and what he was doing. She could hear the party still going on below her. Curiosity made her get up and go to the railing.

Her eyes went immediately to their table, but saw that it was empty except for Bailey, Petey, and Ajay. She scanned over to the bar and saw James surrounded by a group of girls. Alex and Mollie were no where to be found. She gripped the railing as her heart started to race. It slowed down some when she finally spotted them down a dimly lit path. Tears fell as she watched her husband push Mollie against the tree and begin to kiss her passionately.

She closed her eyes trying to forget the memory but its picture was burned into her mind. One of her hands kept a steady grip on the ledge as the other covered her stomach. She opened her eyes to see that Mollie had unbuttoned Alex's shirt and was running her hands up and down his chest.

"Aiden?" Chris called softly as he stepped out onto the balcony, "What's wrong?"

He put a hand on her shoulder as he came beside her. She was shaking badly; something must have really upset her.

"Did you get sick again?" he questioned.

She nodded and laughed a little bit, "You just missed it, lucky you."

He stared at her, "It's not just that I can tell."

Aiden dropped her eyes back to Alex and Mollie who were still kissing against the tree.

Chris followed her line of sight and heaved out a deep breath, "I'm sorry Aiden, I'll go handle that. You stay here."

She grabbed his arm, "No, it's for our baby."

"How?" Chris asked.

"Bailey is catching on so we needed a distraction. She asked me if I was pregnant and I told her no, but who knows if she bought it or not." She said trying to wipe away her tears as fresh ones fell, "It's just so hard to watch him do it."

Chris pulled her away from the ledge and into his arms, "Aiden you got to stay calm. You can't do this because of your blood pressure and all. Ajay said the doctor said that you're not supposed to be all stressed out."

"I know, I know." She murmured.

They took a final look over the ledge. Alex had his shirt off and was groping Mollie all over.

"I don't know how you do it. How can you sit there and watch him make out with her? He's your husband." Chris stated.

"Wouldn't you do anything to keep your baby safe?" she asked softly, still watching Alex and Mollie go at it.

"Of course I would." He said.

"That's exactly what I'm doing. Bailey can't know that we're married and that I'm pregnant, not yet. You know how she would react and I have to postpone that for my health and my baby's." Aiden said holding her bump.

She glanced back down to see Mollie leading Alex toward the beach and into the darkness.

"I'm going to be sick again." She said rushing back to the bathroom.

Chris followed her sincerely hoping that Alex didn't screw up again.

* * *

When she was done throwing up and brushing her teeth again Chris pulled her into his embrace. She was still crying as she clung to him.

"Why don't you go ahead and take your medicine and go to bed okay?" he asked kissing her cheek.

She nodded and went to the nightstand and took a pill. Chris pulled back the covers for her and tucked her in. He went to the other side of the bed and climbed on top of the covers and pulled a blanket over him both of them as he curved his body to the shape of hers.

"You don't have to stay with me." She cried.

He kissed her cheek as his hand rested on her womb, "I want to."

"Thank you." She said.

"Shh…you don't have to thank me." He whispered, "Go to sleep. I'll take care of you Aiden."

**

* * *

TWO HOURS LATER

* * *

**

Ajay had been laughing at James and talking with Bailey and dancing with Petey so much that she hadn't even realized Chris was missing. She knew Alex and Mollie were at the beach and that worried her but now her thoughts were preoccupied with her boyfriend's whereabouts.

She waved at Bailey and pointed upstairs signaling that she was calling it a night. Bailey blew her a kiss as she continued dancing.

She went to the elevator not realizing how tired she was until she got away from the party downstairs. She smiled to herself thinking about asking Chris to give her a back massage before they fell asleep in each others arms. He always gave the best massages.

She opened up the door and went to their room expecting Chris to be sprawled out on the bed in his boxers with the covers all twisted around him like he usually was when he had the bed all to himself. She flipped on the light to find the bed still freshly turned down from when the room was cleaned earlier.

She made a face as she back tracked to the living room. He wasn't on the couch, maybe Cookie had gotten sick and he was in the bathroom with her. She quietly went to the door and opened it.

The light from the hallway spilled across the bed. As soon as she processed what she saw a furious rage built up inside of her.

It had always been a fear of hers, in her and Chris' relationship to walk in on exactly what she'd just walked in on.

Aiden was asleep on her side with Chris asleep behind her their arms and legs intertwined, his hand on her stomach.

Ajay saw nothing but jealous rage. She wanted to scream, she wanted to break something, she wanted to punch someone. She shook, her anger quaking her body.

Chris stirred in his sleep pulling Aiden closer to him and nuzzling into her neck as he grumbled, "Turn off the light."

He pulled the blanket up to shield his and Aiden's closed eyes.

Ajay fought the furious tears that stung her eyes and closed the door. She stormed to her room and slammed the door.

If Chris had made his choice, she was going to do the same.

* * *

_**Who's going to be in bigger trouble Chris or Alex? Review and let me know who you think!! Show me some love peeps, these are long chapters here :) xoxo  
**_

_**Next chapter is gonna be a DOOZIE!! Prepare yourself....you have been warned :)  
**_


	18. Broken Promises

_**Welcome to the beginning of the end this is where the ish hits the fan :) Enjoy!! thanks as always to Kennedy, BourneBetter67, and World's Biggest Jericoholic for reviewing!! **_

* * *

"Come on." Mollie giggled pulling Alex behind her.

They were both beyond intoxicated as they stumbled down to the beach.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Alex laughed spanking her butt, making her squeal and laugh even harder.

"Right here." She laughed.

They had come to a secluded alcove on the beach that was dimly lit by the moon.

"I found it today and wanted to show it to you." She said softly.

He looked around, "It's nice."

Her hands circled his waist as she stood on her tip toes to kiss him. His tongue was making her dizzy the way it swirled around in her mouth. His hands were cradling her face as he slanted his head for better access. He pulled away abruptly when he felt his belt loosen.

"Mollie." He sighed, "We can't."

She poked out her lip playfully as her hands continued unbuttoning his khaki shorts. He shook his head and pulled her face back to his. He stopped again when his shorts dropped to the sand. She reached up and took his shirt off of him and spread it on the ground.

"Lay down." She whispered huskily.

Alarms went off in his drunken mind as he obeyed her. He sat on his shirt as Mollie straddled him and found his mouth again. He was breathing hard as Mollie moved her hips against him. She knew what she was doing to him and she was enjoying every second of it.

"I'm not having sex with you Moll, I can't." he whispered as he scooted her off of him.

She was on her knees between his legs watching him.

He saw the glint in her eye as a smile appeared on her face, "That's fine."

She pushed him to lie on his back. He propped himself up on his elbows to watch her. She leaned forward and kissed his mouth and nibbled her way down his neck, chest, and abs before looking up at him. He was breathing slowly trying to keep his head clear. She pulled on the waistband of his boxers, sliding them down his legs. His rock hard cock sprang free as their eyes locked. Her center became instantly moist as her body recalled the feel of his long shaft inside of her. The mere thought of his impressive erection caused a tingle to race up and down her spine.

Alex shook his head again, "We can't."

"You didn't say anything about what I'm about to do." She smiled.

She gripped the base of his shaft as she wet her lips. She kissed the very tip of it and looked in his eyes. He had stopped breathing when he saw her tongue flick out and lap up the pearl of moisture that had arose. His mind was screaming for him to stop her but he had lost all function of his body parts. His breath hissed out as she took the head of his cock into her mouth, never breaking eye contact with him.

She smiled at his slack jawed expression. She knew he wouldn't be able to say no to this. She watched his face change as she slowly took all of him into her hot mouth. His head dropped back as he moaned when he felt himself hit the back of her throat. She closed her lips around him and sat still. He panted when she pulled him out of her and slid her lips back down. He was in ecstasy as he watched her head bob up and down on him. His hand was at the nape of her neck guiding her movements. When he would stop her he felt her swirl her tongue around him. His breath caught in his chest every time she looked up at him. She looked so incredibly sexy with her big blue eyes and his dick in her mouth.

He was tired of her teasing and decided to take matters into this own hands. He fisted both hands in her hair roughly and pulled her mouth down onto him. He heard her whimper as she looked up at him again.

She remembered how he was. He could only be sweet and gentle for so long before the darker more dominant side of him took over to seize what he really wanted. She loved both sides of him equally. He forced her up and down on him hearing her gag occasionally as he pushed himself deeper into her mouth. Her tears of reflex fell from the corners of her eyes as he continued pumping into her.

"Shit!" he growled as he held her down onto him and came into the back of her throat.

His hands tightened in her hair as he looked down at her. She had her eyes pinched shut waiting for him to finish. Her fingernails dug into his thighs waiting for him to release her. He groaned as he finally finished and let her go. He fell back onto the sand breathing heavily. She at up on her knees with a wicked smirk on her face as she wiped her mouth and swallowed.

She hoped Aiden was keeping score because it was one to nothing already. Stupid bitch thought she could have Alex all to herself, who did she think she was kidding? Alex pulled his boxers and shorts back up and refastened them. Mollie was completely turned on and was hoping for a little action as well, but he didn't look like he was in a very giving mood.

"Want me to walk you back to your room?" He asked quietly.

She hoped he couldn't see the look of disappointment on her face, "Sure."

On their walk back Mollie got sick, the alcohol finally catching up to her. Alex wasn't in the mood to deal with her. His alcohol soaked brain had not put together the consequences for his actions yet and all he was focused on was not puking himself and getting some sleep.

He walked down the hallway like a ping pong ball falling into the door while he fumbled with the key card. He stumbled into the room and locked the door behind him. He fell face first on the couch falling asleep instantly.

The calm before the storm had settled in.

* * *

Chris slowly opened his eyes taking in his surrounding early the next morning. He looked down at Aiden sleeping peacefully on his chest. He simply watched her for several moments; she looked so serene in the morning light. He wondered why Ajay hadn't woke him up and decided he better go check on her. He carefully maneuvered out of bed thankful that he didn't wake Aiden up. He smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead before he left to go to his room.

His eyes immediately went to the packed bags that were by the door.

He scratched his head as he went into the bathroom, "Morning baby."

Ajay was brushing her teeth an angry look on her face. She bent over to spit and rinse her toothbrush as he came behind her to give her a hug. He was taken by surprise as she spun around and shoved him into the wall before she went back into the bedroom. Chris who was puzzled before was even more so now as he followed his girlfriend to the other room.

"What was that for and why are your bags packed?" he asked.

She continued to ignore him as she changed clothes.

"Ashton, stop for a minute and talk to me." He said.

"Why don't you go crawl back in bed with _Aiden_ and talk to her! Both of you looked **SO** adorable all cuddled up together." She yelled sarcastically

"That's what this is about? You're mad that I fell asleep in there with Aiden?" Chris asked skeptically.

"YES!! You act like it's not even a big deal! What if you walked in on me and Daniels in the bed? You would shit a brick and do **NOT** try to tell me any different." She screamed.

He went to close the door, "Will you calm down? You don't even know the whole story."

Ajay's temper was flaring; she could not believe how chill he was acting. He came up to her and tried to pull her into his arms but she pushed him away again.

"Tell me why in the hell you were in bed with your best friend's wife!!" She ordered.

"I came up here to check on her and I found her out on the balcony. She had already gotten sick and seemed really upset about something." He began.

"So you comforted her and wound up in bed?" she asked.

"Let me finish! She was upset because she saw Alex making out with Mollie at the party downstairs. Bailey had confronted her about being pregnant so to throw her off Alex was all over Mollie." He told her.

"That still doesn't explain why the hell you were in bed with her. You were holding her exactly like you hold me with your hand on her stomach and everything." Ajay accused.

"Babe, you didn't see how upset she was. She was crying and shaking so hard. You know she's not supposed to get upset like that because of the Toxemia and all. I thought she was going to pass out. So I gave her her medicine and told her I would stay with her until she fell asleep and then I did too." He explained.

Ajay gritted her teeth mad at herself for jumping to conclusions about her boyfriend and her best friend.

"I mean think about it, could you watch me make out with another girl for the safety of our baby?" Chris asked finally pulling Ajay into his arms.

She sighed, "It would kill me. It would literally kill me to see you do that."

"That's what she was going through last night." Chris said kissing her softly, "She'd be even more stressed out if she knew that it had upset you in any way.

Ajay nodded slowly knowing he was right.

"I even made sure she was under the covers and I was on top." He smiled.

"Poor Cookie. Wait; did Alex even come back last night? I hope he did so I can slap him or something because this is all his fault." Ajay mused as she went to the living room.

She spotted Alex on the couch on his back snoring quietly. The need to release her pent up fury hit her as she grabbed a throw pillow and swung it at his face.

He groaned as he squinted his eyes, "Ajay, you dumb bi…"

She swung the pillow again, connecting with his face. He sat up quickly almost instantly wishing he hadn't, his pounding headache was killing him.

"That was for upsetting Cookie last night." Ajay said, "I want to know what happened."

"We kissed, Aiden told me to kiss her to get Bailey off of our tracks." Alex mumbled.

"Is that all?" Ajay questioned.

The vivid memory of Mollie sucking him off flashed before his eyes as he remained silent.

Ajay swung the pillow again connecting with his head.

"Fuck!" he groaned as he fell into the couch cushions.

"What else happened?" she asked, "Tell me now or so help me."

"Mollie gave me a blow job." Alex admitted hanging his head in shame.

He didn't want to see the disgust and disappointment in their eyes.

"You are unbelievable." Chris muttered more pissed off than he'd been in a long time.

His heart sank as he thought of how this would devastate Aiden.

It was the first time in his and Alex's long friendship that he had ever wanted to intentionally harm him. He had just gotten the best girl he would ever find back and he was moments from throwing it all away again.

"I didn't mean for it to happen. I was drunk." He said.

Ajay was silent; she was so mad, so furious that she was crying.

"How stupid are you Alex? How incredibly fucking dumb could you be?" Do you know how upset she's going to be when you tell her?" she asked.

Alex didn't respond there was nothing to say because he knew how upset she was going to be.

"Tell me what?" Aiden asked quietly coming out of her bedroom.

Chris flinched when he saw her, his instinct to protect her rising up.

Alex hesitated. How could he tell his wife that he had gotten head from his ex-girlfriend last night? His tongue felt too big for his mouth and wasn't working correctly.

"Tell her Alex. Just get it over with." Ajay cried hugging herself tightly.

Aiden closed her eyes as she clung to the door frame, "Just tell me please."

Alex took a deep breath, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, "Mollie went down on me last night. I-I-I let her do it."

Aiden's watery eyes opened as her lower lip trembled. A strangled sob escaped her throat as she hugged her waist and bent over. She inhaled and let out another tortured sob. Alex pushed himself off the couch to go to her.

Chris reacted quickly pushing him back down, "**NO!**"

He went to Aiden and ushered her into the bedroom. Alex leaned back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling for several moments before he pushed himself back up.

"Just leave her alone Alex. Let her cry." Ajay said going to the bedroom door.

"No she's my wife, I need to comfort her." He disagreed.

Ajay turned and swung her fist at him and connected with his eye.

Alex staggered back covering his eye as he howled in pain.

"She wasn't your wife last night while you were getting your dick sucked by your ex-girlfriend you piece of worthless shit!! My boyfriend had to take care of her and give her her medicine because of your sorry ass. Stay away from her unless you want me to punch you in the face again." Ajay threatened as she slammed the door in his face.

Alex trudged into the kitchen to take some Tylenol and to fix himself an ice pack. He sure did have a knack for ruining the good things in his life.

* * *

Ajay went into the bathroom. Chris was sitting on the floor holding Aiden in his lap while she cried. She sounded like a wounded animal as soul searing, gut wrenching sobs tore through her tiny frame.

Chris had his lips pressed to her forehead as he rocked and shushed her. Ajay covered her mouth as she cried too. She hated Alex for doing this to Cookie. **HATED HIM**.

After a few moments Aiden pushed away from Chris and threw up. Ajay busied herself by wetting a rag to wipe Aiden's mouth with. Chris was holding her hair and rubbing her back. Ajay wiped her mouth and held her steady as she brushed her teeth.

"Why don't you go lay down and I'll order you some breakfast, okay?" Chris suggested.

Ajay nodded and led Aiden into the bedroom where she crawled under the covers. Ajay sat beside her softly running her fingers through Aiden's hair, anything to soothe the poor girl. She heard Aiden cry and wished there was something more she could do.

Alex stood up when the door opened, "Is she okay?"

"What do you think Alex?" Chris spat.

"I've got to apologize to her, I can't lose her again." Alex said holding his ice pack on his face.

"You shouldn't have a reason to have to apologize to her for. How could you do that Alex? Let me inside that thick skull of yours so I can understand this. Explain to me how you cheat on you wonderful, beautiful pregnant wife **KNOWING** how it was going to break her heart." Chris yelled.

Alex stayed quiet, he didn't have an explanation.

Chris nodded disgustedly, "She doesn't need to be upset any more than she already is."

Alex wasn't backing down, "Remember when Ajay was so pissed with you but I let you talk to her when none of the other guys were around, I'm asking you to do me that favor, please."

"This is a little bit different Alex!! I wasn't married to Ajay and she wasn't pregnant with my baby and sick all the time. I was dumb, you're **INSANE!**" Chris shouted.

Alex was taken aback by Chris' sudden outburst. The two of them never disagreed about anything more than what they were going to eat or what they were going to wear to the ring. Chris had never yelled at him about anything.

"Please, Chris, please let me talk to her." Alex begged.

"No, and I dare you to go in there right now with Ajay, I dare you to." he threatened.

Alex was breathing heavily trying to keep himself calm. He flopped back down on the couch in defeat. He wasn't brave enough to piss off a pregnant Ashton Reso twice in one morning.

Chris waited by the door for the food to arrive. When it did he tipped the man and took it into Aiden's room and shut the door. He went to the side of the bed where Aiden was facing and sat the food down. Aiden was staring blankly out the window. Chris cast a worried glance up at Ajay.

"Come on baby, why don't you sit up and eat something?" Chris said taking Aiden by the arms and sitting her up.

He took the tray and sat it on the bed and uncovered it for her.

"Look Cookie, he got you some fruit and some eggs and some bacon and some toast." Ajay smiled at her friend hopefully.

Chris sat at the foot of the bed sharing his breakfast with Ajay. They both watched Aiden push around her food and take very few bites. Finally she put the tray back on the nightstand and buried her face into her pillow.

Chris went to her and knelt beside the bed kissing her cheek and wiping away her tears. Ajay despite her worry and sadness for her friend still felt a twinge of jealously of Chris' obvious protectiveness and comfort of Aiden.

Chris and Ajay stayed in Aiden's room the whole day taking care of her. She refused to take her medicine and had been throwing up all day as a result of it. She hadn't said a word, but when she was awake she cried and wept silently. They had packed her things and had gotten some satisfaction by taking all of Alex's clothes and throwing them in the living room with his suitcase.

The next morning Aiden was dressed and ready to go. She sat on her bed hiding behind her oversized sunglasses dreading having to see Mollie and Alex. Chris went out first seeing Alex waiting on the couch. Aiden and Ajay walked out next and immediately went to the hallway and to the elevator.

Alex chewed on his lip furiously, "You can't keep her from me forever, Chris. She's going to have to come home eventually."

Chris rolled his eyes, "Shut up and help me with these bags."

* * *

Ajay found them a seat in the lobby as they waited for the rest of the group.

"Hang in there Cookie, okay?" Ajay asked, keeping her hand held firmly in hers.

Aiden nodded. Truth was she felt like she would vaporize at any second. She had intentionally not looked at Alex but she couldn't avoid it. He was her husband after all; there wasn't much she could do about it. She didn't know if she had the strength to face him and forgive him this time though.

Ajay had been staring at Aiden trying to think of some way to cheer her up when she felt her squeeze her hand. She looked up and saw Bailey and Mollie coming their way. Ajay looked back at Aiden and saw her tears slide down her cheeks behind her sunglasses. She squeezed her hand back that was now shaking.

"Morning." Bailey greeted.

She had been looking forward to this encounter since Mollie woke her up and told her what she'd done last night.

"Hi." Ajay smiled sourly at Mollie.

Mollie smirked arrogantly, "You can make whatever face you want to Ashton it's still not going to change the fact that I gave her _'boyfriend' _head last night. Still think he's all yours bitch?"

Aiden whimpered and let go of Ajay's hand as she took off to the bathroom. Mollie and Bailey tried to suppress their laughter.

"Come on Ajay, it is a little funny that that girl thinks she can tame Alex Shelley." Bailey giggled.

Ajay stood up tears shimmering in her own eyes, "She would if it weren't for hateful bitches like you sabotaging her relationship. I can truly say that I am ashamed to call you my friends."

Bailey and Mollie stopped laughing as they watched Ajay leave to go find Aiden.

* * *

_**Wow....and it's only going to get worse for Aiden from here on out :) stay tuned!!! xoxo**_


	19. Downward Spiral

**_So...my computer HATES me again :( so i'm sneaking around and whoring myself out to use other peoples computers :) not really...but kinda lol so please enjoy this EXTRA LONG chapter and I will post again ASAP :) xoxo_**

* * *

Ajay rushed to the bathroom to find Aiden wiping her eyes and nose with tissue in her shaking hands.

"I can't ride with them in the same vehicle to the airport, I already feel light headed and dizzy. I just want to go home and forget we ever came here." Aiden cried.

Ajay pulled Aiden to her. They both laughed as their bellies prevented them from hugging each other.

Ajay took her hands instead, "I'll get us a cab and you can ride with me and Chris."

"I'm sorry I ruined your trip, both of you have spent more time with me then you have with each other." Aiden sniffed.

"It wasn't your fault now was it? You're my friend Cookie of course I would be there for you. I'm just sorry all of this happened to you." Ajay said.

Alex came downstairs with Chris sporting his black eye that Ajay had given him. Petey and James laughed and pointed at him.

"Was it Aiden or Ajay?" Petey smirked.

"Ajay." Alex grumbled.

"She should have given you two." Chris muttered.

"You are a dumb sum bitch to think that you were going to get away with it." James laughed.

"I didn't think that. I didn't think at all." Alex said he was in a foul mood already.

"Is everybody ready to…Oh my God Alex! What happened!?" Mollie exclaimed rushing to him and turning his chin to look at his eyes.

"Who hit you?" Bailey asked as she looked with Mollie.

He saw Ajay smirk as she led Aiden to the door.

"Ajay did after she found out what an idiot I was." Alex said.

"She had no right to hit you." Bailey said quietly.

Mollie looked at him slightly hurt, "Do you regret last night?"

He pulled away from her, wincing as he put on his dark shades, "Yeah I do."

They got to the airport, Ajay, Aiden, and Chris riding separate, and boarded the plane. Alex sat by Mollie again after Ajay threatened his and James' life if they switched seats. Mollie had tried several times to get his attention but he kept his ear phones on and his eyes on Aiden's seat. When they landed they got their luggage and went to the parking garage where they had all parked together.

"I think Bailey and Petey are going to stay at his mom's or something and Ajay's kind of pissed at me, so I was wondering if I could spend the night with you?" Mollie asked.

"No." Alex said, keeping his eyes on Aiden in front of him.

Ajay and Chris had not given him any opportunity to talk to Aiden at all.

"Where am I supposed to stay then? James is staying at Ajay's for real this time." Mollie whined.

Alex shrugged sarcastically, "Get a hotel it's not my problem."

Mollie glared at him, "This is exactly the reason we broke up the last time because you get what you want and then act like an asshole!"

"Maybe it's because you're not what I _want_ Mollie!" Alex started.

She punched him in the arm and got in the car with Bailey.

"What are you now, oh for two or three?" Petey joked.

Alex was **NOT** in a joking mood at all. He went to his car and loaded it with his suitcases and half of Aiden's. Chris he saw was loading the other half. Petey honked the horn as they took off. Alex went to their car and took two of Aiden's bags out of the trunk. Chris was breathing heavily trying to keep his temper in check. Ajay was standing beside the car holding Aiden's hand tightly.

James came up to them, "Why don't you go ahead and get in the car?"

He took a couple of steps to stand slightly behind Chris.

"She's not going with you Alex." Chris said, his voice low and dangerous.

Chris was a very relaxed person unless you pushed him too far and then it was not pretty.

"The fuck she is! I played by your little rules on the plane and whatever but she's coming home with me now." Alex ordered, "Aiden sweetheart let's go."

Chris shoved Alex, "She wasn't your sweetheart the other night! You can't just go back and forth Alex!"

Alex shoved him back, "She's my girlfriend and she's coming home with me!"

James stepped between the two of them trying to keep the peace but they both kept shouting and pushing each other.

"STOP!" Aiden called.

Everybody turned to her.

"I don't want anybody fighting over me." She said letting go of Ajay's hand and walking to the passenger side of Alex's car.

Alex went to her and kissed the top of her head, "Thank you."

"Aiden you can stay with us you know that." Chris said.

She nodded.

"Come with us Cookie." Ajay asked.

She shook her head and got in the car.

Alex turned back to the three of them, "Thank you for everything you've done. You were there for her when I wasn't."

"Go to hell." Ajay shouted getting in her car.

Chris glared at Alex as he got in the car and drove off.

"She'll be fine and she'll call if she's not." James assured.

Chris got in the driver's seat as mad as he could be.

* * *

On their way home Alex continued to glance over at Aiden who had been stoic the entire time. He reached out and took her hand as he drove bringing it to his lips. She made no movement.

"Aiden, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I never meant for it to go that far I hope you know that." He said.

She looked out the window still not saying a word.

"How can I make it up to you Aiden, I'll do anything?" he pleaded.

When they got home she still had not uttered one word. She got out and went upstairs, changed and got in the bed. Alex brought their luggage in and unpacked everything.

He lay down beside Aiden and pulled her to him, "I'm sorry baby. I'll say it as many times as I need to"

They lay in silence for several moments.

"What did you want to eat honey? I'm hungry so I know you and the baby are too." He smiled rubbing her stomach.

She didn't answer.

He kissed her cheek as he got up, "I'll find something."

He went downstairs extremely annoyed with himself. If he could have just kept his resolve and not given in to Mollie everything would have been great. He found the number he was looking for to order her favorite spaghetti from one of her favorite restaurants. He didn't even know if she were in the mood for it or not. When the order finally arrived he brought it into the kitchen and put it on a plate and took it upstairs. He sat his on his nightstand and went around to her side of the bed.

"I got your favorite." He sung as he sat the plate down.

He stopped smiling when he saw the tears in her eyes. She had been crying again and it was all his fault.

"I'm sorry honey. Please forgive me. I don't want you to be upset." He begged brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Please eat a little bit." Alex asked.

She sat up slowly as he handed her her plate. She ate small bites, chewing deliberately. She hadn't eaten even half of it before she put it back on the nightstand and lay back down.

Alex sighed as he finished his meal, "I'll put yours in the fridge okay? Maybe you can have it for lunch tomorrow."

She pulled the covers up around her and fell asleep. Alex sat downstairs for the longest time watching TV and drinking a couple of beers as he pondered the trip. He kicked himself every time he thought about the night with Mollie. He internally abused himself for being so dumb. Now Aiden was suffering for everything he'd done. When sleep finally found him he trudged back upstairs and crawled in the bed.

He curled up to Aiden holding her in his arms, "I love you."

* * *

The next morning Alex had been awakened by the sound of Aiden heaving in the bathroom again. He threw the covers off and rushed to her side. There was nothing he could do but support her until she finished. He could feel how weak she was already. While she brushed her teeth he went and got her pills.

"Here baby, take one so you'll feel better." He cooed.

She took the open pill bottle from him and threw it across the room. The bottle hit the wall sending pills flying everywhere. Alex stood in shock; she'd never had an outburst like that. She went back to bed pulling the covers around her again. Alex's heart constricted when he heard her sobs.

He went to her again, "Baby please tell me what you want me to do to fix this. Please, I'm begging you."

She buried her face into her pillow as she cried. Alex sighed, he was at a loss. He didn't know what to do or say to make this right. He knew she couldn't keep going like this. She barely ate enough as it was, but when she was upset he knew neither she nor the baby were getting enough nutrition. He turned on the stove to make her some eggs and toast. If she wasn't better by the afternoon he was going to have to do something. He and Chris were supposed to be leaving tomorrow night, and he knew he wouldn't be able to focus if she was still in the condition she was in.

He went back upstairs with her food. He sat it on the nightstand; she had cried herself to sleep. He left the food where it was hoping that she would wake up and eat a little bit. He went downstairs and played video games for a little while until he got bored and went to his office to pay some bills. Before he knew it, it was lunch time.

He made himself a sandwich and re-heated Aiden's spaghetti and went to take it up to her. His heart sank when he saw that she hadn't touched her breakfast and that she was still asleep. His stomach churned with worry. She hadn't eaten anything but a couple of bites in two days. He was getting scared for her and the baby.

He bent and kissed her cheek trying to wake her up, "Sweetheart, sit up and eat this okay?"

She rolled from one side to the other and was facing away from him. He sat her food down and got in the bed on his side.

"Aiden look at me. I know you're mad at me, I don't blame you, but you not eating is hurting our daughter. If you want to be mad at me and punish me then that's fine I know I deserve it but she doesn't. Please don't take it out on her because of me." He asked.

She turned away from him and started crying again, sobbing like she had when she had found out about his betrayal at the beach. He held her tightly and shushed her softly. He was worried before, but now he was scared. When she finally fell asleep again he got up and called Chris and Ajay's house.

"Aiden?!" Ajay answered the phone after one ring.

"No, it's Alex." He said.

"Well I don't want to talk to you, put her on the phone." Ajay huffed.

"She's asleep." Alex replied.

"Don't wake her up, I'll call her later." She said.

"Wait, I need your help now though, please." Alex shouted, thinking she was going to hang up.

"What?" Ajay asked.

"She's not herself." Alex said.

"What do you expect you damn fool?" Ajay shouted.

"No, she sleeps all the time, when she's awake she either cries or is sick and she's not eating. I'm scared Ajay and I don't know maybe you or Chris could get through to her."

"You should have just let her come with us in the first place you idiot." She harassed.

"_Please Ajay_." He begged.

She could hear the fear in his tone.

"We'll be over in a few minutes." She conceded.

Alex sighed thankfully as he hung up the phone. He sat on the barstool at the counter staring at the paint swatches they had picked out for the nursery. He sprung out of his seat when the doorbell rang. Ajay, Chris, and Joey were waiting on the other side. Neither of them looked too thrilled to see him.

"Is she upstairs?" Ajay asked as they stepped inside.

Alex nodded.

"Chris will you fix her something hot to eat please and bring it up?" Ajay asked.

He nodded and went to the kitchen with Joey.

Alex sat back on the barstool, "Thanks for coming over."

Chris turned on the stove and placed a pot on the burner, "We're here for Aiden not you."

Alex nodded, "I know, thank you."

When Joey was done opening the cans of vegetable soup he handed them to Chris who emptied them into the pot.

Upstairs Ajay walked into Alex and Aiden's bedroom and sat down on the bed, "Aiden, wake up."

Her eyes opened but were heavy lidded.

Ajay saw that she was even shaking in her sleep now too.

"Hey Cookie, how are you feeling?" she asked.

Tears welled up in Aiden's eyes as her bottom lip trembled. A small sob left her throat as she weakly held out her arms to Ajay. She pulled Aiden up into a hug as the frail girl cried on her shoulder. Ajay's heart was breaking for her. She held her until Chris and Alex came into the room.

Chris came to the bedside as Ajay pulled away. He put the tray across Aiden's lap who shook her head.

Ajay put the spoon in her hand, "You're going to eat some of this Cookie."

She hesitated before her trembling hand scooped up a spoonful of soup. Before she could reach her mouth she had spilled it back into the bowl. Alex was watching in the doorway as she tried several more times to feed herself but failed due to her shaking. Finally she dropped the spoon into the bowl and pushed the tray away. More tears fell as she lay back on her incline of pillows.

Ajay picked up the spoon and brought it to Aiden's mouth, "You've got to eat Cookie."

Alex could have almost melted into the floor when he saw Aiden take the first bite of food. Finally she made it through the whole large bowl. Her color was slowly coming back much to his relief as well. Chris took the tray away as Aiden closed her eyes again. Ajay got up and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Thank you Ajay." Alex said as soon as she appeared in the doorway.

She ignored him as she looked at Chris, "I want to try to get her to eat again in two hours."

Chris nodded, "I'll fix her something a little bit more solid."

"I'm sorry." Alex stated, "For everything, and I really appreciate the two of you coming over."

Ajay and Chris glared at him before going to go check on Joey.

He didn't care if they were mad at him if they were helping Aiden get better. He would jump through whatever hoops he needed to for the health of his wife and baby.

Two hours later Chris fixed some brown rice and lemon pepper chicken, and Aiden ate that too. Alex felt like he could breathe again until he heard her throwing up thirty minutes later. She had crawled back into bed and cried in Ajay's arms for an hour. Alex was scared she was severely depressed and that he would have to take her to the hospital for more in depth treatments. Ajay came downstairs after Aiden fell asleep.

"Has she said anything to you?" She asked looking at Alex.

He shook his head, "The last time she said anything to me was at the airport when we got in that argument."

Ajay looked worried, "I tried to get her to talk to me but all she would do was either sit there or cry. She wouldn't say anything."

Alex sat pensively, "I don't know what to do. I've apologized, I've begged her to tell me what she wants from me but she does the same thing with me too. Maybe I shouldn't go tomorrow."

"You've got to, we've got that match against the British Invasion." Chris muttered.

Alex shrugged, "I don't know what to do. Should I take her to the hospital to get checked out?"

"You shouldn't have betrayed her again Alex, you should have just loved her enough to have kept it in your pants." Chris growled, "Fuck this shit, I can't sit here anymore, i've got to go pack. Are you going with me?"

"No, i'm going to stay with her." Ajay said quietly.

She knew how upset he'd been. He'd been in a foul mood since Alex had shown his ass at the airport and was worried sick about Aiden.

"I'll bring Joey back over in the morning. I love you." he said as he left to get Joey from Riley's room.

After Chris had left Alex and Ajay sat in the living room watching TV.

"So I guess everybody hates me now huh?" he questioned.

Ajay nodded, "Chris and I are worried for Aiden and the baby."

"So am I! I don't know what to do. I know I don't want to make things worse, but I just wish she would talk to me and tell me how to make her happy again." he groaned, "I can't leave her like this i'll be worrie dsick about her while i'm down there."

"While i do agree with Chris, you know that i'll take care of her while you're gone. It might even get her to open up." Ajay said.

He nodded, "I really do love her."

"Then why did you do it Lex?" Ajay asked.

He stared at her for a moment with an odd expression on his face before he went upstairs to check on her. Ajay was puzzled by the look he'd given her, almost as if he had wanted to divulge the true reason why he acted the way he did but stopped himself.

* * *

The next morning Ajay ahd coerced Aiden out of bed to sit with her downstairs while Alex got ready to leave. She was wrappe dup in a blanket on her favorite chair staring into space. Ajay was growing increasingly worried about her. Chris arrived a few moments later with a rambunctious Joey. He ran into Ajay's arms proclaiming how much he had missed her.

Alex came and knealt in front of Aiden after loading up the car, "We're heading out okay?"

She stared past him silently.

"I love you Aiden, so much, please talk to Ajay or something so we can get past this." he pleaded.

He kissed her stomach and then her lips, "I love both of you."

It killed him to see his normally bright, sunny, beautiful wife to be just a shell of her former self. There was no light anywhere around her, she was dull and lifelss. Alex kissed her again and again before he could finally tear himself away from her.

When Chris and Alex left Aiden began sobbing again. Ajay had tried to hold her but she pushed away from her and went upstairs to her bathroom. Ajay returned back downstairs when she heard the shower turn on.

She was watching TV when Aiden came back downstairs.

"Hey Cookie, what did you want to eat?" she called over her shoulder.

When Aiden didn't answer she turned to look at her, "Where are you going?"

Aiden was dressed and ready with a suitcase by her side.

Tears were in her eyes as she spoke for the first time in three days, "I don't want to be here anymore."

Ajay was worried by her words, "Cookie, please don't leave, don't go back to Paris. Who's going to make sure my shoes match if you leave? Who is going to take care of you when you get sick?"

"I can't stay here and be surrounded by how happy we used to be. I need to clear my head." Aiden answered.

"Come over to my house, just please don't go back to Paris. You're my friend Aiden, I don't want you to leave. I'll be so worried about you and the baby. Alex really is sorry, I know he is." Ajay tried to persuade her.

Aiden shook her head, "Will you drive me to the airport?"

Pain tightened around her heart as she finally nodded her head. Ajay was in tears as she waited with Aiden for her flight.

"I'm just going to my parents house to stay. Please don't be mad at me for this." Aiden whispered.

Ajay wiped her eyes, "I'm not mad, i just worry about you. Maybe when Crhis gets back I can come down and stay with you."

Aiden squeezed her hand, "I've got to do this myself Ajay. I've got to. And you have already done so much for me, and you've got Joey and Chris to take care of here. It's better this way."

Ajay was desperately trying to hold back her tears in front of Joey. Aiden stood up and hugged her when her flight was called.

"I'll see you later." she smiled weakly.

Ajay nodded, barely keeping it together. They watched Aiden board her flight and then left to go home. She held in her emotions until they got there. Joey ran upstairs to play while Ajay cried in the kitchen.

She called Chris sobbing.

"Babe what's wrong?" he asked very worried about her and Joey.

"It's Cookie, she's gone home to Savannah." She cried.

Chris sighed, Ajay had serious abandonment issues that he knew had been triggered.

"Ajay calm down okay and tell me what happened." Chris stoothed.

"She was all upset when both of you left and she went upstairs and then the next thing i knew she was packed and ready to go to Savannah." Ajay said through her hiccups.

"It's okay honey, she probably just needed time to think. She didn't leave because of anything you did so don't blame yourself." he told her.

Alex narrowed his eyes at Chris overhearing his conversation, "What's wrong?"

"Aiden left to go to Savannah." he whispered.

Alex froze. What if she didn't come back, what if she was gone for good this time? What if he couldn't right his wrongs? His soul ached knowing the mother of his unborn child had left him without a word, and no clue how to fix their relationship. He sunk to the bench and put his head in his hands. He was sick with grief already and even more so than he already was. How in the world was he going to prevent losing the best thing going in his life?

* * *

_**Shout outs and Street creds go out to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, BourneBetter67, World's Biggest Jericoholic, and the two peeps I have been missing but are back now: reaper07, and Pennie **_

**_Thanks for your reviews I love hearing from you!! _**


	20. Reflection

**_Thanks as always to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, BourneBetter67, reaper07, pennie, and world's biggest jerichoholic for being AWESOME and reviewing last time :) _**

**_Hope you enjoy :)  
_**

* * *

Aiden got out of the rental and greeted all of the dogs and Spike the goat as she went up the stairs to the door.

"Oh my goodness, Baby Sunshine! We didn't know you were coming!"

Aiden shrugged, "I'm going to go lay down. I'm tired."

Caroline and Nana both nodded as they let her go upstairs.

"How much do you want to bet that dumb Yankee husband of hers has messed up again?" Nana muttered taking a sip from her Long Island Ice tea.

Caroline shook her head, "I hope not. And if he did he better be glad Daniel is off on a hunting trip."

They let Aiden sleep until around eight that night before they went to check on her.

"Sunshine, wake up. Come down and eat. We made your favorite." Caroline smiled

Aiden nodded slowly and sat up.

"How's the baby doing?" she asked.

"Fine." Aiden said quietly.

"Is it that boy again?" Nana demanded.

Aiden shook her head in a lie, "I was just tired of the cold."

"Didn't you just get back from the Bahamas?" Nana asked without skipping a beat.

Aiden was silent as she sat there.

"Honey, you look terrible. Your face is gaunt, you're far too skinny. Talk to us baby." Caroline encouraged.

"Not right now mama." Aiden sighed.

"Later then?" Nana asked hopefully.

Aiden nodded as they helped her out of bed.

"Can I see?" Caroline smiled warmly.

Aiden lifted the hem of her shirt to expose her pregnant belly.

She and Nana cooed over the baby until Aiden lowered her ruffled shirt, "I'm hungry."

Caroline and Nana both gave each other a look before following her downstairs. She smiled to herself when she saw all of the food on the kitchen's island. She fixed herself a plate and sat down.

"You look like you haven't eaten in a week." Caroline commented on her daughter's appearance.

"Leave that baby alone, she's eating now." Nana admonished.

"Why don't you go ahead and tell us what's going on?" Caroline suggested.

Aiden was almost tempted to lie but she knew Nana would call her out.

"Well, let's see here… I've been sick my whole pregnancy, like non-stop projectile vomiting sick, when I take my medicine it turns me into a zombie. I've been hiding my being married and pregnant from Bailey and everybody else which has caused my blood pressure to shoot sky high and to top it all off Alex cheated on me…again…with another ex-girlfriend. So yeah, if I didn't like myself so much I would have thrown myself off of a building by now."

Caroline sat with her mouth hung open in shock. Nana shook her head sipping from her flask. They ate in silence. Aiden finished her plate and sat it in the sink.

"I'm going to go lay back down." She announced going back upstairs.

"Nana got out of her seat and went to the rolodex by the phone.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked still in shock.

"I'm calling Minerva to set that boy straight." Nana said.

She snatched the phone away from her, "Minerva? The voodoo priestess Minerva?"

"Yes." Nana answered.

"You can't call _her_! She'll cast a **spell** on him!" Caroline hissed.

"That's the fucking point, now hand me the phone back. There's plenty of time for her to get everything ready. Maybe she knows a spell that will make his dick drop off the next time he even thinks about cheating on our sweet baby Sunshine." Nana pondered.

"We need to go talk to her. I couldn't think of one thing to say when she told us all of that." Caroline said sadly.

"Me either." Nana agreed, "I'll go get her."

She made her way up the stairs and peeked her head in. Aiden was curled on her side sound asleep. Her magnolia night light casting a soft glow on her face. She shuffled to the bedside and pulled the down comforter up around Aiden's shoulders and turned off her night light. She left the room quietly closing the door behind her.

"Is she going to talk to us?" Caroline asked as soon as Nana reappeared.

"No, she was asleep already. We'll fix her a good breakfast in the morning and talk to her then." She suggested.

Caroline nodded and finished loading the dishwasher.

**

* * *

DETROIT

* * *

**

Ajay was still upset the next day since Aiden had left. She had called her at least twenty times, each time it went straight to voice mail. She had her phone cut off. Chris arrived early from the tapings to take care of Ajay. She rushed into his arms when he got home and cried for a good thirty minutes.

"Ajay, calm down. She's fine, she's with her family, you they won't let anything happen to her." he soothed.

"But how do I know that? What if she's still the same and barely eating anything? What if something happens to her or the baby, would they call us and let us know?' She sobbed.

Chris held her and rocked her gently, "It's going to be fine honey, and of course they would call us to let us know."

"What if I go into labor and she misses it? I want her there with me." Ajay continued to cry.

"We would find a way to get in touch with her. You know she wouldn't miss that." He said.

"Maybe Joey and I could go down there and see her, stay there while you're at the tapings or something." She thought aloud.

Chris was skeptical, "Babe, didn't you say that she wanted to do this alone?"

Ajay's lip quivered, "Yes, but she's my best friend and I just feel all alone when I can't talk to her."

She fell back into Chris' arms crying even harder.

He knew the underlying reason she was upset was because of her parent's abandonment of her when she was a baby. She never handled it well when someone she was close to left suddenly for an extended amount of time, especially someone as close as Cookie.

Even when they weren't close and Aiden had left for Paris, Chris could tell it had affected Ajay more than she let on.

Chris pressed his lips to the top of Ajay's head, "Stop crying babe, I know she's going to be fine. She had to leave to get all of this sorted out. You know how you take your 'Ajay Time Outs', it's the same thing except she's not going to the Canadian tundra, she's going to sweet, warm, gentle Savannah. Nothing is going to happen to her, she's going to get better and get through this and come back just in time to be in the delivery room with us."

Ajay nodded slowly, "I hope you think she checked her voicemail yet?"

Chris shrugged, "I don't know. I'm sure when she does she'll call you back."

Ajay nodded again before going to take a shower. Chris sighed. He was glad Joey was over at Petey and Bailey's playing with Riley because he would have freaked seeing Ajay so upset. He crossed his fingers that Aiden would be back sooner rather than later because the longer she was gone the worse Ajay would get.

He picked up his cell phone to try Aiden himself. The two of them had developed a close bond in the Bahamas and even though he was hiding it very well from Ajay he was worried about their friend too.

**

* * *

SAVANNAH

* * *

**

Aiden woke up to one of her favorite smells, her Mama's southern breakfast buffet. It made her mouth water just thinking about all of the delicious food that she knew had been prepared. She was being optimistic for once feeling no signs of sickness. She looked down at her stomach watching the baby shift. It was still so amazing to her that she was carrying a child. She went to her suitcase and pulled out a tight long sleeved shirt with some jeans.

"Morning Sunshine." Caroline greeted.

Aiden kissed her Mama's cheek and sat down beside Nana who patted her hand.

"What's all of this for?" Aiden asked when Caroline set two plates loaded with food in front of her.

"You looked so frail, bless your heart, that we made it our mission to fatten you up." Caroline smiled.

"Mama, I can't eat all of this. I can't gain weight because then Bailey will know that I'm pregnant." Aiden balked.

"Yes you will eat it and if that Bailey girl or anybody else has an issue she can squash it or I'll do it for her. You're not going to look like a pregnant skeleton." Nana huffed.

Aiden knew better than to argue with them so she began the task of clearing her plates. She almost made it all the way through but had to stop at the last couple of bites, "If I eat anymore I might go into labor because there will be no room for the baby."

"Well she looks better already." Caroline said to Nana who nodded.

They went to sit out on the porch in the crisp autumn air.

"We wanted to apologize to you too sweetie." Caroline began.

Aiden looked confused, "Why?"

"Because we didn't know what to say last night when you told us what's been going on." Nana said quietly.

Aiden shrugged, "What could you say? Not many times that situation has come up before."

"Well baby what are you going to do?' Caroline questioned softly.

Aiden rocked pensively looking out across the landscape, "I don't know."

"Well are you done dealing with his bullshit or are you going to give him another chance?" Nana asked, getting straight to the point.

Aiden shrugged as tears began to form, "I'm so confused, I just don't know what to do at all. I don't want my baby growing up without her father but at the same time I just cant' trust him to be there for us."

Caroline and Nana watched Aiden, not saying anything knowing she had to get her thoughts out.

"I just don't know what's best to stay with him or do it by myself." She sighed.

"Why would you stay with him?" Caroline asked.

Aiden let her tears fall then, "Because despite everything that has happened I love him. I'm carrying his baby. He's never got to experience his child's pregnancy before and I don't want to take that away from him."

"But what about you?" Nana asked.

"When he's committed which has been the majority of the time he's been so good to me and the baby. He takes care of me and calls me and worries about us, he's great. And then he screws all of it up by getting with Mollie." Aiden cried.

"Why wouldn't you be with him?" Caroline continued.

Aiden was silent as she thought, tears spilling into her lap.

"Sunshine?" Nana prodded.

"Because I feel so stupid for trusting him again and believing he would be good for us. I'll feel so dumb knowing that he's cheated on me twice and I keep coming back to him. How can I look at him knowing he's slept with Bailey and Mollie? How can I look at myself knowing how stupid I will feel for taking him back? I won't feel like I've accomplished anything by letting him get away with hurting me again." She stopped trying to catch her breath, "How can I look at my daughter knowing that I chose not to be with her father? How can I be selfish enough to not want her to have both parents and to grow up the way I did? I just don't know what to do."

Caroline and Nana both went to Aiden to hug her.

"Oh baby, we see why you're so confused about this now." Nana cooed.

Aiden sniffled into her mother's shoulder.

She felt her baby move again, "And when she does that it makes me feel like she's telling me that she wants me to stay with her daddy."

Her mother and grandmother's hands went to her stomach and felt it move.

"You don't need to make a decision right away. Just stay here and relax and think about everything and you'll figure it out, because we can't tell you what you should do. That is entirely up to you honey." Caroline said wiping Aiden's tears away with her apron.

"I'm going to go for a walk. I just want to be alone for a little while." She said softly.

Both women nodded and helped her to her feet. Aiden went across the yard, the pack of beagles and Spike following her. She lay out in the grass watching the clouds make shapes, then she went to the creek and put her feet in the cold water while the dogs and Spike splashed around. Finally when it started getting dark she made her way back to the house. She swung on the wooden tree swing watching her Mama and Nana fix dinner.

She loved being home, she loved not having to deal with any drama, but at the same time she loved her husband, and she loved their baby. She stopped swinging and went to the porch and put food in the dogs and Spike's bowls before she went inside.

"Did you have a good walk? You look like you got some sun." Caroline smiled.

Aiden nodded.

"Honey, there's something in the living room for you." Nana said.

Aiden furrowed her brow as she went to the living room. On the coffee table was a large bouquet of calla lilies.

She took the small envelope and read the card, "_I'm so sorry Aiden. Please forgive me and come back home. I love you and will do anything to make us work. Love Alex"_

Aiden touched the velvety soft flower as she stared at Alex's scrawled handwriting. She sighed deeply putting the card in her pocket. Caroline and Nana didn't say a word as Aiden went upstairs to wash up before dinner.

**

* * *

ONE WEEK LATER

* * *

**

Aiden, her mother, and Nana were all eating breakfast when her father returned form his hunting trip.

"Caroline, what the hell are all of these flowers doing in here? I can't even see my library anymore." Daniel boomed coming through the house.

"Good to see you too." Nana said sarcastically with a sly smile on her face.

"Daddy!" Aiden squealed as she went to her father.

His expression instantly went from a frown to sudden elation.

"What did I tell you about swallowing those watermelon seeds?" he joked pulling her into his arms.

"Some days I wish that's what this was." She sighed.

"Still sick?" he asked looking down at he beloved daughter.

She nodded, "It's been better since I've been here."

"You look just as beautiful as always. I'm glad to see you finally put on some weight. You look good sunshine." He complimented, "Now what are all of those flowers doing in there? Something I should know about?"

Aiden looked at her mother and Nana pleading silently with them not to tell her father what happened. Alex had been sending several bouquets a day for a week to try and prove his love and dedication to her.

"Is it that damn boy again? I swear he's going to wish he were dead." Daniel threatened, "What the hell did he do now, sleep with that girl again?"

Aiden was panicking. If her father found out what Alex had done she would be a widow. It took several hours of begging and crying form Aiden for him not to put a bullet in Alex's head the last time.

"They're from Alex, she's been her visiting with us for a week and he just misses her. He's been busy with work and couldn't come and see her." Caroline lied, seeing all of the color drain from Aiden's face.

Daniel was skeptical, "That's it? He just misses you?'

Aiden nodded shakily, "He misses me and the baby."

"That's all? He didn't screw up again, because I always said he just has that screw up look about him." He said pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Daniel!" Caroline scolded.

He shrugged indifferently. Aiden shook her head.

Daniel sat down at the table while Caroline fixed him a plate, "Well maybe he's figured it out now what a great girl you are and how lucky he is to be with you, and that I allow him to live for what he did to you."

"Don't upset the baby." Nana frowned, hugging Aiden.

Daniel winked at his daughter, "I would never."

* * *

Later that night Aiden was in her room sitting on the balcony wrapped up in a blanket.

"You packed." Nana commented stepping out onto the balcony with her.

"I did." Aiden answered.

Nana smiled, "Your Mama said you would go back."

Aiden looked up at her grandmother, "Do you think that's the wrong decision?"

Nana shook her head.

"Do you think I'm being stupid?" she questioned.

If there was anyone who would give it to her straight, it was Nana.

"Baby, you're a lot of things, but stupid is not one of them." She said matter-of-factly.

"I want answers." Aiden stated.

"Of course you do." Nana agreed.

"I want my baby to have her father in her life all the time not just on the weekends." She continued.

Nana nodded, "Certainly."

Aiden began tearing up, "I want my marriage to work."

Nana went to her and smoothed Aiden's hair down, "You want your dumb Yankee Mohawk boy don't you?"

It was Aiden's turn to nod as she began to cry, "As infuriating as he can be, I still love him. I just can't imagine my life without him."

"Well it's obvious he still loves you too. I don't think you're being dumb for wanting your marriage to work. If you weren't being cautious about it and second guessing yourself, **THEN** you would be dumb. It's a tough decision, one I was lucky enough to never have to deal with, but I think you're doing the right thing Sunshine. You know I would tell you if I didn't think you were." She assured her granddaughter.

Aiden nodded, "I'm so nervous about seeing him."

"Don't be baby, and let him beg you to come back, you deserve at least that." She smiled, "Come on and get some dinner. We need to fatten you up a little more before you go back up there."

Aiden laughed following her Nana downstairs.

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_**hhmmmm....Aiden's going home to confront that dumb boy of hers...lol should be interesting :) **_

_**let me know what you think xoxo!!**_


	21. Fighting Fate

_**Updating FAST b/c the big day is this Saturday!! So I'm trying to squeeze in as many chapters as possible before then :) Enjoy! Thanks to those that reviewed, I love hearing from ya'll!**_

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**DETROIT**

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**

The past week had been hell for Chris. He had been pulling double duty caring for Ajay all the while hiding the fact that she had sunk into a depression from their son and their friends. He sent Joey to stay with Petey and Bailey most days telling them Ajay was sick and it upset Joey to see her like that.

Ajay was inconsolable. She was so upset that Aiden had left her and hadn't returned her calls. Her abandonment issues plagued her. There was nothing he could do to lift her spirits. She would toss and turn at night, getting barely any sleep at all. Then throughout the day she would be curled up in a ball watching movies or sleeping. She cried on several occasions, more than Chris had seen her cry before. She just could not cope with the sudden absence of her best friend. She was blaming herself for Aiden's leaving thinking that if she would have some how been a better friend to her she would have changed. Chris made sure she ate and held her when she cried and cared for their son, it was all he could do to rectify the situation.

The saying misery loves company completely applied to Ajay and Alex. He had come over every day and they would just sit together in silence. Alex was just as bad if not worse than Ajay. Chris tried talking to him on several occasions but Alex only responded with, "How would you feel if Ajay left while she was pregnant and it was your fault?"

Chris finally stopped asking. He couldn't admit it but he was worried about Aiden and missed her too.

The day had pretty much been like all the rest. Ajay tossed and turned and woke up screaming from a nightmare then stayed up crying for an hour or so before falling back asleep. Then she had trudged back downstairs to sit in her chair and stare at the TV. Chris was stretched out on the couch dozing off since he had stayed up last night comforting Ajay.

Chris groaned when he heard the doorbell ring, "I thought you said Alex wasn't coming over today?"

Ajay didn't respond. Chris got off the couch and went to the door. His mouth hung open in shock when he saw Aiden standing on the doorstep. She had on a deep crimson sweater dress that fell above her knees with patterned tights and black stiletto ankle boots on. Her black trench coat blew in the cold breeze.

"Wha…what?" Chris stammered.

"Can I come in?" she asked softly.

He nodded dumbly, fumbling with her luggage as he continued to gape at her.

"Sorry I didn't call first. I kind of just made the decision." She smiled.

Chris closed the door and pulled her into a hug. He let her go and took her hand to pull her into the living room.

"Ajay, look who's here." Chris called excitedly as they both came around the corner.

"**COOKIE!**" Ajay screamed hauling herself out of the chair.

She hugged her sideways tightly.

"Ajay, don't cry." Aiden smiled as she began welling up too.

Ajay would not let her go, she just continued to hold her as she let go of her emotions. Aiden rubbed her back as she cried on her shoulder. Finally Ajay let her go and took the tissue Chris handed her.

"Cookie, you got _pregnant_!" Ajay gushed wiping her eyes.

Aiden looked down at her protruding stomach and laughed, "Yeah, I guess I did."

"You look so much better now." Ajay smiled as they sat down on the couch, "You look so pretty."

"Thank you. I'm sorry I didn't call you back, I just had to deal with everything before I could decide what I was going to do."

Ajay kept staring at Aiden, "You look so tan too."

Aiden looked a little confused by Ajay's clinginess.

Chris caught her look, "Babe, why don't you go and get those clothes for the baby that you wanted to show her?"

Ajay smiled, "Doesn't she look better Chris? We missed you so much, Alex too. He's been coming over and moping around with me.

Chris nodded, "Go get those clothes so you can show Aiden."

Ajay got up, "I'll be right back."

"I've never seen her like that." Aiden said.

Chris smiled apologetically, "I don't think you knew this but Ajay's parents abandoned her when she was a baby. It kind of messed her up, that's why she doesn't open up very easily to people. She tries not to get attached to people so that she won't get her feelings hurt when they leave."

Aiden was crestfallen, "I didn't call her or anything, no wonder she's all upset."

"You didn't know, she'll be fine now that you're back. You aren't leaving again are you?" he asked.

"No, well just to go home, but I'll stay here for a little while." She said.

"Yeah, wild horses wouldn't be able to drag you out of here right now." He smiled, "You do look a lot better, you've gained some weight, which is a good thing."

Aiden sighed, "Good for the baby, bad for me trying to hide her."

Chris shook his head, "Aiden, it's going to come out eventually, don't you want to enjoy your pregnancy just a little bit?"

"It's for the best. I'm not ready for everyone to know yet. It will be easier now that everybody knows that Alex and I are fighting and that I left." She replied.

"So stubborn." Chris teased shaking his head and smirking.

"When it comes to my baby, yes I am." Aiden smiled.

Ajay came back downstairs with a handful of little baby clothes on hangers, "Will you give me your professional opinion on these?"

Aiden laughed, "I can do that."

When she was done assessing all of the clothes she noticed Ajay was staring at her again.

"What?" Aiden asked.

Ajay looked at Chris and then back to her, "Two things. One, you are not allowed to leave me again like you did because I will be very mad at you, and I don't like being mad at my Cookie."

"Done." Aiden smiled.

"And two," Ajay continued, "Chris and I wanted to ask you if you would please be in the delivery room with us?"

Aiden's mouth dropped open, "Me?"

They both smiled and nodded.

"Of course I would, thank you for asking me." She smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I think you and I together would be able to keep Ajay calm so she doesn't kill somebody." Chris joked as he kissed Ajay.

Aiden wiped her eyes, "That means so much to me that you asked."

Ajay hugged Aiden, "I wanted you to be there that way maybe you wouldn't be so scared when you have your baby, and stop crying you're making me feel bad."

Aiden laughed, "Damn hormones."

Chris grinned, "It's so good to have you back home, and we really did miss you. Does Alex know you're here yet?"

Aiden shook her head, "I'm kind of postponing the inevitable, but I know I do need to call him."

Ajay was skeptical, "Let him suffer some more, he deserves it."

Aiden looked down at her hands, twirling her wedding band around beneath her engagement ring.

Ajay sighed, "Well don't leave yet. He can wait another hour or so."

Aiden nodded.

* * *

They talked and ate lunch together until finally Aiden pulled out her cell phone to call Alex. Ajay was pouting in her chair.

Alex picked up on the first ring, "Aiden!?"

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Are you okay? Is the baby? Where are you?" he spouted off.

"We're fine, I was wondering if you would pick me up from Chris and Ajay's?" she asked.

"I'm on my way now." He said disconnecting the call.

"You're already shaking again." Ajay muttered.

"I'm just nervous." Aiden said.

Alex burst through the door a few minutes later. He stopped at the entrance to the living room. Aiden stood up to face her husband. Alex swallowed audibly when he saw how much bigger their baby had grown in only a week. Aiden was finally glowing for the first time since she found out she was pregnant.

His chest rose and fell heavily as he blinked back tears. He went to her and pulled her into his embrace. He could feel her shivering as he held her.

"I'm so sorry baby, this is all my fault and I swear it will never happen again." He whispered in her ear.

Her fear spiked, she did **NOT** want to be made a fool of again.

"You've said that before Alex." She sighed.

"I know, _I know._" He said quietly continuing to hold her.

She pushed away from him, "Why is this time any different from the last? Why should I trust you when I've gotten burned twice by doing so? We have a lot to talk about before I come back into your life."

Alex watched her completely terrified that if he said the wrong thing he would lose his wife and daughter for good.

"I'll do whatever it takes for you to come home so we can be a family again." He promised.

"I only want one thing from you…the truth." She said staring at him with her determined eyes.

Alex nodded solemnly.

Aiden pondered her line of questioning, thinking of what she wanted to ask him very carefully.

"I want to know what you're thinking." Aiden began.

He blew out a breath, that was an easy question with an even easier answer, "I'm thinking about how much I love you and how badly I want us to be together again."

Aiden shook her head, "I don't want to know what you're thinking about right now, I want to know what you think about when you cheat on me?"

Ajay gasped and held onto Chris, she couldn't believe Aiden had just asked him that.

Alex's jaw flexed, "I don't really think about anything. I was going on bad information the first time and this time I was drunk and let things get out of hand, and I'm so sorry."

"You don't think about your wife and your unborn baby at any point and time?" Aiden asked.

"Sometimes, but I just, I get caught up with what I'm doing and what I'm feeling and by then I've already fucked up." He stammered.

He was so afraid of saying the wrong thing and hurting her even more. He took a step to her and held his arms out to her but she shook her head. Alex dropped his arms in defeat.

"What makes you do it? Why do you act like such a man whore? If you didn't want to be married, if you wanted to be single and sleep around then why did we get married in the first place?"

Alex sighed, "Can we go home and talk about this please?"

Aiden shook her head, "Answer me first."

Alex glanced at Chris and Ajay before dropping his eyes. He never liked talking about himself and his emotions, especially with an audience. He couldn't lose Aiden though, he just couldn't.

So he sucked up his pride and locked eyes with her again, "I don't want to be single Aiden that's why I married you. You are the one person that makes me feel happy and loved. You're the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life, you're the only person I want to have children with, you're everything to me baby."

She crossed her arms, "What about the first part of the question?"

He didn't answer as he glanced back at Chris and Ajay.

"Alex?" she asked.

He shook his head and lowered his eyes, "Please can we talk about this at home?"

He looked back up at her and saw the shimmering tears in her eyes as she shook her head.

"Babe please?" he pleaded.

"No, Alex. Just tell me why you do it, why do you cheat on me? Am I not good enough for you?" She cried.

He rushed to her then, grabbing her upper arms, "Don't you ever say that Aiden! You're more than good enough for me. That's why I do it, that's why I cheat on you because I don't deserve you."

His eyes were cloudy with his emotion, his whole body shook with the raw openness that she had coerced from him. Aiden's tears fell as she stared at her husband. She never knew that he felt that way.

He let her go and averted his eyes, "Can we go now please?"

Aiden nodded. Chris and Ajay waved slightly as Alex took her hand and went to his car. He loaded her suitcases before they took off to go home. The ride was silent as they drove. They both walked into the house, Aiden sitting on the couch. A vase with two dozen roses sat on the coffee table with a card that read: _Please come home, I miss and love you, Alex._

He stood behind his chair, "I was going to send those tomorrow."

"They're beautiful." She said wiping her eyes.

He nodded, "They reminded me of you."

She looked at him then, "I want to finish talking Alex."

He chewed on his lip and sat down. He waited for her to speak.

"Why do you feel like you don't deserve me Lex?" she asked.

"Because I don't." he answered simply.

"So that's the reason you cheat on me?" she wondered, "I don't get it."

"Look at you then look at me, its so obvious Aiden. You, you're everything. You're sweet and beautiful and sophisticated and intelligent and refined and look at me, I'm none of that shit. I've got semi-good looks and a cocky attitude to mask the fact that that's all I've got going for me. I don't want to cheat on you Aiden but I don't know of any other way to not be so attached to you." He said.

"Why don't you want to be attached to me anymore? You don't love me anymore?" she choked out.

"I do love you, God help me, I love you so much it hurts Aiden. I've never loved anyone as much as I do you, and that's what scares me." Unexpected tears fell from his eyes, "I hurt you so that when somebody comes along, somebody who actually is in your league, somebody that deserves you, when they come along and make you realize how much we don't belong together I'll be able to survive it. Maybe I can figure out how to live with my heart ripped out of my chest when you leave, maybe you'll hate me enough by then to not ruin your life again by being with me."

He dropped his head again and sniffed. He was in agony as she watched him. She could tell how pitifully self loathing he was at the moment and it was killing her.

"I don't know why you love me, there's no reason for you too. I have nothing to offer you." He laughed cynically, "I keep feeling like I cheated the love game and now I'm doomed to sit around with this painful anxiety wondering when the carpet is going to be snatched from up under you, me, the baby…everything. I keep waiting to wake up but praying everyday that I don't."

Aiden sat on the couch, stunned by her husband's words. Now she was unsure of herself, not knowing whether she should comfort him or fear for their relationship. The dull pain from being nauseated since she got back was becoming unbearable as she stared at the top of Alex's head. She closed her eyes briefly and placed a hand on her stomach in an effort to keep the sickness at bay. Her eyes opened slowly as she felt Alex's hand cover hers. His visage broke her heart. His jaw was tight in an effort to maintain the tears that were welled up in his eyes. His cheeks still wet from the previous tears that had fallen.

"I'm sorry that I was selfish. I-I…" he paused gritting his teeth as the tears spilled and unbearable pain lanced through him, "I'll understand if you decide you'd rather not be with me. I can endure it for the sake of your happiness and for our baby."

Aiden turned slightly to cup his face forcing him to look at her. His eyes were shimmering and he was holding his breath.

She wet her trembling lips, "There is only you, no one else. Not now or ever. I could never just walk away from you Alex."

He shook his head in her hands, "You should. Don't you see that nothing adds up? The odds were stacked against us from the beginning."

"If we want it enough, if we work at this, if we trust each other and love each other we can make it. I realized that while I was gone. You're not just somebody that I want; you're somebody that I need. You're my husband and our baby's father. That means something to me; you've got status above everyone else." She stopped and winced as a wave of sickness throttled her.

"Aiden?" Alex questioned softly as she released him and bent at her waist.

She blew out a breath, "I'm okay."

He shook his head watching his ailing wife, "I'm sorry Aiden."

"You're not allowed to apologize anymore. I know you are." She whispered as she slowly sat back up.

He ran his fingers through her hair again, dark, watchful eyes never leaving her face.

"The only thin I want from you no, the only thing I'm afraid of, is for you to please not make me look like a fool for taking you back. Please don't do this to me again because I just couldn't bear it." She trailed off leaning back against the couch as another wave tore through her.

"I swear I won't Aiden. I love you, I hope you know that." He promised.

She nodded slowly as she pulled him to her.

"I love you too." She breathed, her lips brushing his.

He looked into her eyes as she pressed his lips to hers.

And with that….their fate was sealed.

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_**It took me forever to figure out how to word this chapter :) hope it made sense! thanks to Kennedy and BourneBetter for their help :) xoxo**_


	22. Nightmare

**_See how much I love you :) Even on my honeymoon I find the time to update :) Please go to my profile and check out the banner for Almost Perfect, CenaCandiceFan4Life does such an amazing job, and BournBetter67 is kick ass for posting it for me b/c she knows how dumb I am :) Please read on, drama llama goes wild next chapter :)_**

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_Alex was pacing in Aiden's hospital room; they were waiting anxiously for her epidural. She had finally passed out from exhaustion after enduring several hours of non-medicated contractions. He prayed ferverently that the doctor would come soon to alleviate his wife's pain. Every time she seized up and held her breath or whimpered in pain it stabbed him in the heart. Every moan, every squeeze of her hand cut him like a knife. She was in unbearable agony and he was completely, infuriatingly helpless. No amount of soothing would comfort her. He wanted this to be over with, he wanted their baby to be born so she would be free from the torturing pain. _

_An hour later she was administered her epidural but when that problem was fixed another arose. The baby's heart rate dropped suddenly when Aiden began pushing indicating that the cord was wrapped around its neck. Alex felt like he was underwater as he moved to get prepped for Aiden's cesarean. He heard nothing but her feeble weeping as nurses put a cap, gown and gloves on him. _

_He kissed Aiden's trembling lips, her beautiful eyes glassy with terrified tears. His mouth could not form any words of encouragement or anything to calm her down. He sat there, his gaze focused on her terrified face. He felt his heart start to beat in his chest again when he heard the first cry of his daughter. He blinked away tears as her piercing wail filled the room._

_"Mr. Martin would you like to cut the cord?" the doctor asked._

_His eyes left Aiden's face as he nodded. He stood up extremely grateful that he couldn't see where Aiden was splayed open and cut his daughters cord. Almost immediately machines that were hooked to his wife went off. Her pulse flat lined, lights were flashing red, and everything was vividly bright and harsh. He looked back at Aiden's face. His reaction was like someone had punched him in the stomach. Her angelic face looked like she was asleep; a bright red trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth, the only blemish on her beautiful face._

_**"Save her**.**" **He managed to croak out._

_None of the doctors moved to stabilize or revive her. They were all glaring hatefully at him from behind their masks covered in Aiden's blood. His daughter's screaming cut him like a scalpel; he didn't know what was going on. Why wouldn't anyone help his girls?_

_"You did this Alex." One of the doctors said._

_Alex shook his head slowly, "No."_

_"You didn't deserve her." They said in unison._

_He shook his head again tears spilling down his face, "Please save her."_

_"She won't suffer because of you anymore."_

_His daughter's cries transformed into words, "Mommy!"_

_He turned to look at his daughter's cherub face screaming for her mother._

_He went to Aiden completely distraught as he cradled her face, "Please don't leave me, please wake up baby. I need you Aiden, PLEASE!"_

_She was cold and unresponsive. He backed slowly into a corner realizing how completely and utterly alone he was. His daughter's screams fillied his head as he crouched down in the corner. He covered his ears to block her shrill cries, his vision blurred when the doctor's began unhooking Aiden from the machines. He gasped for air as he dropped his eyes. _

_He should have never gotten her pregnant; he should have never caused her so much stress. He looked back up at her and pressed himself further into the corner when he saw that she was staring at him. They began wheeling her out of the room._

_Alex stood up and struggled to find his voice to protest, "She's alive, wait! She opened her eyes!"_

_The doctors all stopped and slowly turned to look back at Alex. They had all taken off their masks to reveal their faces to be familiar ones her knew. Chris, Petey, Ajay, Mollie and Bailey looked at him._

_Bailey grinned wickedly as she picked up the screaming infant, "They belong to us now Alex."_

_He tried to rush to them but a door slammed in his face. His fists pounded as he yelled for them to open the door. _

* * *

He sat upright in bed. He was shaking and covered in sweat as he heaved in gulps of air. His hands were aching due to his white knuckled grip on the sheets. He hesitantly looked over at Aiden who was curled up asleep on her side facing him. Tears stung his eyes as they moved down to her swollen abdomen. His chest ached, the memory of losing her stinging his senses. He couldn't stand it any longer he picked her up and pulled her into his arms.

He felt her wake up slowly and put her arms around him. He was still gasping for each breath, tears falling uncontrollably. He squeezed her tightly fearing if he let her go she would disappear. Her lips pressed against the racing pulse in his neck.

After several minutes he let her pull away slightly.

Her concerned face was right in front of his, "Honey, what's wrong?"

He ran his fingers through her long blonde hair unable to answer her. He wet his lips before he pulled her to him for a kiss.

"I just had a bad dream." He finally confessed.

He leaned back against the incline of pillows pulling her to lie on his chest.

"What was your dream about?" she asked looking up at him.

He shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget it."

"Ok." She whispered lying her head back down.

She fell asleep shortly after but Alex didn't dare close his eyes. He was completely terrified of reliving the nightmare of losing his precious wife and child. He couldn't bear to relive that again.

* * *

Two weeks passed uneventfully. Alex was completely doting on Aiden who hadn't been sick at all due to the stress free nature Alex had afforded her. While Alex and Chris went to Orlando for tapings Ajay and Aiden hung out and went shopping and put the finishing touches on their nurseries.

Ajay and Chris were over at Alex and Aiden's just finishing dinner. Aiden went to gather the dirty dishes but Alex stopped her.

"I've got it babe, dinner was great by the way." He smiled kissing her deeply.

He took the dishes and went into the kitchen. Aiden was blushing as she turned to look back at Chris and Ajay.

"He's definitely made some changes." Ajay smirked.

Aiden sighed dreamily; she was on cloud nine and couldn't hide it.

"He has. Everything has been so wonderful, and the sex…" she trailed off closing her eyes.

Chris and Ajay both looked shocked.

"I can't even remember the last time we did it." Chris grumbled.

"What! Why?" Aiden asked.

Chris looked over at Ajay who rolled her eyes.

"I just don't feel comfortable. I look like a beached whale." She said.

"And I think you look beautiful. You're pregnant babe, not fat. I don't know why you don't listen to me." He pouted.

Alex returned and sat down beside Aiden.

"Cookie's not even half my size. She's still cute and attractive and not fat and hideous." Ajay whined.

Alex snickered, "Are you talking about sex?"

Aiden nodded, "They haven't been together in forever."

"That's really sad, and unnecessary." He laughed.

Ajay glared at him, "I'm five days from being nine months pregnant Alex! I'm ready to have her and get back down to my normal size and then we can have sex."

Chris sighed, "It's been since April."

Aiden reached across the table and squeezed his hand, "You poor thing."

Alex burst into laughter and only stopped when Ajay punched him in the arm.

"Ajay, you're not **THAT **big, you could totally put out and stop leaving my man hanging." Alex smiled holding his arm.

"I am so huge, look at me." Ajay argued.

"Aiden's twice her normal size too but that doesn't stop us." Alex came back.

"No she's not, she's still as tiny as ever." Ajay muttered.

Alex took Aiden's hand t to help her stand up.

"Show her." He smiled.

Aiden lifted up her ruffled tiered blouse to reveal her stomach that was in fact twice its normal size.

Ajay was shocked, "How in the hell do you keep it hidden so well?"

"I wear this elastic belly band support thing that helps hold me in and because I can't zip my jeans anymore." She smiled, "I _told_ you I could hide it."

Chris was amazed, "Wow, and you're already what six months?"

Aiden nodded as she fixed her clothing.

"Okay, now that I believe you, how do you have sex? I mean surely you're uncomfortable right?" Ajay asked crossing her arms.

Alex grinned devilishly, "You know, it would be easier if we showed you."

Aiden blushed scarlet, "No! We're not having sex in front of them."

Chris wiped the smile off his face quickly when Ajay glanced over at him.

"Nah, we'll just show them some positions with our clothes on. We're helping our poor sex deprived friends out honey. It's more like community service." Alex persuaded.

Aiden looked t Ajay and Chris still blushing, "I don't know."

"Please!" Chris begged, "If Ajay sees how you do it and can be comfortable then maybe I'll get a little action before I have to wait six more weeks after the baby is born."

Ajay smiled, "Come on Cookie, show me how it's done."

Alex helped Aiden back up and hey all went upstairs.

"Okay, so the main thing is pillows. If used correctly they make the magic work." Alex began.

He motioned for Aiden to get on the bed.

"I cannot believe I'm about to do this." She mumbled

"The easiest is just spooning; you don't have to stage anything. I just roll over and go." Alex explained, pulling Aiden against him, "Show them your favorite babe."

She got up on her hands and knees and propped herself up on some pillows as Alex held her hips from behind.

"I don't have to do anything but lay here." Aiden smiled at Ajay, "And it stretches my back because it's starting to hurt more and more."

Ajay nodded, "That does look comfortable."

"And then of course if se feels like it she'll get on top and run the show." Alex said spanking Aiden before pulling her to the end of the bed.

She stood up gingerly, "And Nana said that having sex will make the baby come faster too."

Chris bounced with anticipation, "Will you guys watch Joey? He's asleep in Riley's room."

Alex smiled, "No problem."

Ajay hugged Aiden when they got to the front door, "You've created a monster."

"You'll thank me later." Aiden laughed as Chris pulled Ajay with him to the car.

"I'm going to finish cleaning up okay? Why don't you go check on Joey and get ready for bed you look tired sweetheart." Alex said kissing her forehead.

She nodded, "I am. Thanks babe."

Alex loaded the dishwasher and checked all the doors to make sure they were locked before he went upstairs. He peeked his head in on Joey a final time and then headed to his bedroom. He stripped to his boxers and got in bed with Aiden.

"Goodnight gorgeous, I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too Lex." She sighed sleepily.

They drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Three hours later Aiden was awoke by her phone ringing on the nightstand.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Cookie, its Ajay!" she said frantically.

Aiden smiled, "I know, you're the only person that calls me that."

"No, that's not funny, listen, I'm going into labor! Nana was right! My water broke just as we finished." Ajay yelled into the phone.

"What! You're going into labor now?" Aiden asked shrilly.

"Yes! Get your ass up and come on!" Ajay ordered hanging up the phone.

"Alex get up!" Aiden said shaking him awake.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" he asked sitting up frantically.

"It's Ajay, she's having the baby." Aiden said rushing to the bathroom to do her make up and hair.

Alex trudged in glaring at her in the mirror as he used the bathroom.

"What was that look for?" Aiden asked.

"You gave me a fucking heart attack." He growled flushing the toilet.

Aiden poked her lip out, "I'm sorry."

He kissed her temple as he walked into their closet to find an outfit to wear. Aiden finished her hair and ran downstairs to get her makeup bag from her purse. She ran back upstairs and applied only what she needed before dashing into the closet.

"Where are my dark skinny jeans?" she called to Alex.

"Umm…downstairs I think." He replied form the bathroom as he fixed his hair.

Aiden took off back downstairs to get them. She came back with them unbuttoned and slipped into her belly band and pulled on a black baby doll long sleeved shirt on to hide her belly.

"Oh shoot, I've got to get Joey dressed. Ajay left some clothes downstairs." She said taking off for the stairs.

Alex caught up with her at the top of them and grabbed her arm to stop her.

She looked up at him appalled, "We've got to hurry!"

"Alright, I know that, but you gotta quit shaking my kid though. You running around probably makes her feel like she's in a blender. I'll get his clothes and bring him to you. Go sit down." He said.

"Hurry up!" she said going and sitting on the bed to pull her grey slouch stiletto boots on.

He came back only a few moments later with a whining Joey. Alex sat him in the bed and he immediately crawled to Aiden and snuggled into her arms.

"Joey, honey, let me change your clothes really quick so you can go back to sleep." She whispered gently.

He complied sleepily by raising his arms so that she could pull his shirt off and put his other on. She changed his pajama pants with jeans. She nodded to Alex when she was done and he picked him up to carry him to the car. Joey pouted and held his arms out for Aiden.

"I'm sorry baby, A-Ten can't carry you, but I'll sit in the back with you if you want me to." She smiled brushing his curly blonde hair back.

He nodded and yawned.

After he was buckled in he looked over at Aiden pensively, "Where are we going?"

"We're going to the hospital to meet your new sister. Your mommy and daddy should already be there." She answered.

"You okay?" Alex asked looking at her in the rear view.

She blew a breath out of her pursed lips, "I think so. I just hope I don't get sick while I'm back there with them."

His eyes narrowed with worry, "If you can't do it, Ajay will understand, I know she will."

"I'll be okay. I've got to try." She said weakly.

Alex sighed, a lump of emotion in his throat. It had been two weeks since his nightmare and he still couldn't let go of the mental images that flashed in his mind's eye. He had been paranoid since he had experienced the dream and taking his wife to the hospital was increasing his anxiety. He took a deep breath to maintain his sanity as he glanced at her in the rear view mirror. She was comforting Joey who was fighting sleep.

She hadn't been nearly as sick as before. Ajay was going to deliver her baby, not Aiden. Aiden wasn't going to die. Alex wouldn't let her.

* * *

_**Let me know :) **_

_***And if you want to see a pic from my wedding that i'm stoked about and can't WAIT to see the rest e-mail me :)**_


	23. Sitting In The Tree

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, BourneBetter67, World's Biggest Jericoholic, and Pennie for reviewing (MUAH!!!) ya'll are the best!! Hope you enjoy this little twist :)**_

**_Also check out the banner for Almost Perfect on my home page!! CenaCandiceFan4Life is frigging AWESOME!!_**

* * *

Ajay broke into a smile when she saw Aiden and Alex walk in with Joey in his arms.

"Mommy." he called out squirming free from Alex's grasp and running to her bed.

Chris caught him before he could get tangled up in Ajay's IV's.

Aiden went to Ajay and gave her a quick hug before putting her hands on her stomach, "How are you doing so far?"

Ajay shrugged, "Not too bad. Everything kind of slowed down when we got here."

Chris let Joey crawl into his mother's arms after settling him down a bit.

"What kind of drugs are they pumping in you? Anything good?" Alex smiled.

"Not yet, just fluids." She smirked kissing Joey's head.

"Are you nervous?" Aiden asked.

"He's more nervous than I am." Ajay grinned motioning to Chris who was in the chair beside the bed.

Aiden sat on the arm of his chair, "You'll do fine."

"I just can't believe its actually going to happen. I mean, we're going to have a baby, this little person that we have to take care of and raise. My little girl is finally going to be born." he said staring into space.

Alex chuckled, "Why don't we get 'The Pregos' some snacks, you know how they get and it sounds like you could use a breather dude."

Chris nodded, "We'll be right back, I have time right?"

Ajay rolled her eyes,"I will not push this baby out in the next five minutes Chris, I promise."

Alex pulled him out the door winking at Aiden as they left.

Aiden poked her lip out, "It's so cute that he's so excited about the baby."

"Except for the whole Twilight Zone he goes into." She muttered closing her eyes to rest with her sleeping son.

* * *

As the early morning passed Ajay progressed in her labor. Her contractions were coming more swiftly and she was experiencing far greater pain than earlier.

"Why don't you go ahead and take Joey to the waiting room." Aiden suggested as she held Ajay's hand.

His stomach jumped to his throat when he thought of the dream, "Are you okay?"

Aiden nodded, "I'm fine."

Alex picked up Joey and went to the door. He went to the waiting room and laid Joey down on one of the loveseats. He put his head in his hands as he tried to get rid of some of the nagging fear in the pit of his belly. A few minutes later Bailey and Mollie turned the corner.

"Alex! What room is Ajay in? We've been asking everybody!" Mollie hurried.

"She's right down the hall, but she's almost ready for her epidural and to start pushing.

"So we need to hurry then right? I mean somebody other than Chris needs to be with her, what if he passes out?" Bailey said.

Alex's sleep deprived mind didn't process his words before they tumbled out of his mouth, "Aiden is with her."

Both girls stared at him with completely shocked faces.

"What in the hell is she doing back there?" Mollie growled, "I thought she left your ass and went back to Georgia?"

Alex bit his tongue, "She did. Ajay asked her to come stay with her because she was so close to being due. She had asked Aiden earlier to be in the delivery room with her before we went to the Bahamas."

Bailey shook her head as frustrated tears welled up in her eyes, "That is so much bullshit. We're here friends, she was there with me for my delivery. We always said that when we had kids that we would be there for the other."

Alex shrugged indifferently, "Well its her kid, her vagina, her life, her call, so deal with it."

Mollie rolled her eyes, "You're such a fucking asshole. I swear I don't know what I ever saw in you. I bet you were so happy when you found out that she was back in town huh? Has she taken you back yet or did she finally wise up?"

"Shut up Mollie." Alex growled.

She laughed, "So that's a no."

Bailey crossed her arms, "She doesn't deserve to be back there. We're Ajay's friends and have been for years, long before she ever bumped into you."

Alex bounced his knee in frustration. He was tired and worried about Aiden and was not prepared to deal with their bullshit. Mollie whipped out her cell phone and began typing.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked.

"I'm texting Chris so he can ask Ajay if she wants us back there or not." she answered sarcastically.

He shook his head, "You're so fucking stubborn Mollie."

She flipped him off as she received a text message.

"What did she say?" Bailey wondered.

"She said to please stay with Alex and Joey so that he doesn't lose her son again." Mollie said furiously, "I mean honestly that girl should be wearing a halo and some wings shouldn't she?"

Bailey laughed a little bit, "She should have a whole group of people just to push her around on her pedestal."

Alex chuckled to himself, "It really is hilarious how jealous the two of you are."

"No what's hilarious is how you played us both and didn't end up with either of us." Mollie shot back.

Alex's blood was boiling, "Well you served your purpose anyway didn't you Mollie?"

He didn't care how low of a blow that was, he was sick and tired of them talking shit about Aiden.

Bailey gaped at him, "Apologize Alex, that was unnecessary."

"No, screw both of you. It was Ajay's choice who she wanted back there NOT Aiden's, she didn't do anything wrong." he argued.

"She never does." Bailey scoffed.

"Shut the fuck up about her. Seriously, lets just all be quiet." he said raising his voice.

They all sat in a tense silence waiting for news about Ajay and the baby.

**

* * *

**

DELIVERY ROOM

* * *

"Ajay let him go before you tear out you IV." Aiden pleaded pulling on Ajay's arms.

"Fuck that! He's the son of a bitch that got me pregnant. I want him to feel the pain that I'm in.!" Ajay yelled.

She was choking Chris out, having locked him in a headlock during one of her more severe contractions.

"I'm going to kill you for doing this to me!" Ajay proclaimed.

Aiden went around to where Chris was wheezing and struggling for air to look in Ajay's eyes.

"Ajay let him go, so he can go ask about your epidural, okay? You don't want to miss out on that do you?" Aiden asked calmly as she gently relieved some of the pressure off of Chris' neck.

Ajay trembled, "No."

Aiden gently rubbed Ajay's stiff arms, "Let him go then okay? Will you do it for Cookie?"

She finally released Chris who collapsed into the chair dizzy from lack of oxygen.

"Here comes another one." Ajay wailed as she leaned into Aiden who had sat on the bed beside her.

"Breathe, don't push yet." Aiden said soothingly as Ajay squeezed her tightly.

She whimpered as the contraction assaulted her, riding it until it was finally done.

"Chris go find her doctor. She's going to be ready soon." Aiden said looking at the clock on the wall.

She had been meticulously timing her contractions since she'd gotten there and had asked the doctor about her dilation when he would come and check on her progress. Ajay was crying with her head resting on Aiden's stomach.

"She's almost here. It will all be over with soon." she comforted.

"It hurts so bad." Ajay cried.

"It's going to be worth it when they put her in your arms. When you see her for the first time Ajay, none of this will matter." Aiden said softly.

She looked up at her friend, "What about you? I didn't even ask if you were doing okay."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about me, you worry about you and the baby."

"Cookie." Ajay whined.

"I'm fine, get ready because another one should be coming." Aiden instructed.

Sure enough, another contraction rolled through making Ajay squeeze Aiden and press into her tightly. Chris returned with the obstetrician. Aiden and Chris helped pull her to sit up. Ajay pushed Chris out of the way and pulled Aiden back to her for support.

"I got you medicine babe, you shouldn't still be mad at me." Chris smiled hopefully.

Ajay glared at him, "I am still in pain, like the kind of pain you would feel if your penis was between two cinder blocks okay? Cookie didn't do this to me, you did, so leave me alone for now."

Aiden looked back apologetically at Chris before focusing back on Ajay who hissed as she was being injected.

"Why does this have to be so painful?" she moaned.

"You wont be in such bad shape very soon." Aiden promised.

"Okay, you should be feeling better already." the doctor smiled when he was finished.

"Can you feel your contraction?" Aiden asked looking at the clock.

"No, not really." Ajay smiled, "Bless you sir. Can you do me one more favor? Will you check my friend here out? She's pregnant too, if you couldn't tell."

The doctor raised his eyebrows as he looked Aiden up and down, "I had no clue."

Aiden blushed, "Ajay, I'm okay. You need to worry about having the baby, not me."

Ajay shook her head stubbornly as she laid on her side, "I can't relax and focus with you looking all pale. I feel horrible for not noticing sooner."

"It will only take a few minutes." the doctor said.

She looked at Ajay and Chris' pleading faces, "Okay."

"If you'll take a seat and recline back please." he instructed lifting her shirt, he was unable to hide his surprise at how big she actually was, "How many weeks are you twelve?"

Aiden shook her head, "Twenty-four."

His eyes darted back up to her face, "And you regular doctor said that the baby was normal?"

Aiden nodded, "I had my last check-up two days ago and everything was fine."

He listened to the baby's heartbeat and nodded taking the stethoscope from his ears. He pulled the blood pressure cuff off the wall, that's when Aiden balked.

"I'm fine. This is silly, she's going to have her baby in the any minute or so there's no reason to be worrying about me." Aiden down played herself.

"You're shaking again." Chris pointed out.

"I'm just tired." Aiden sighed.

"Cookie put your arm out now." Ajay ordered.

Aiden glared at her but stuck her arm out nonetheless, "This is stupid. You're the one in labor, not me."

The doctor looked up at Aiden with concern all over his face.

"I'm sure its high, it has been before but I'm fine, my vision is fine and I haven't had any headaches, those are the warning signs right?" she shrugged.

"What is her blood pressure?" Ajay asked ignoring her.

"One forty over one hundred. This concerns me greatly. Have you had any spotting or nausea?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Please just worry about her, take care of her and that will make me okay too. I don't want to talk about me." she whispered through her sudden tears, "It's not about me."

"If you want I can bring you some medicine to..." the doctor tried but Aiden shook her head, "Then I suggest you at least try to relax, maybe go to the waiting room where its a little more relaxed and quiet.'

"No." she said.

"Okay, but I'll be keeping an eye on you." he said leaving her alone and exiting the room.

"Cookie, I want you to go lay down. I don't want you to be all stressed out." Ajay said.

"No, I said that I was okay. I'm tired and a little stressed out about Bailey and Mollie but that's it. I want to be here." she cried.

Chris shook his head discreetly at Ajay telling her to drop it because she was just upsetting Aiden even more.

"Cookie please don't make me worry about you." Ajay pleaded, "Go lay down for a little while."

"I don't want to leave you, we were doing so well." she sniffed.

"Come on Ajay just le3ave her alone, you're upsetting her even more." Chris admonished pulling Aiden into his arms.

"Don't yell at me like that when I'm in the middle of having your kid! Cookie at least sit down for me then." Ajay said.

Aiden complied after Chris when to the bathroom to get her some tissue. They sat in silence until it was time for Ajay to start pushing.

The doctors had positioned Chris on one side and Aiden on the other holding her feet.

"Oh God, I don't know if I can do this." Ajay said chewing on her bottom lip.

"Yes you can babe. Stay positive. Our baby girl will be here soon." Chris encouraged.

He was ramped up completely ecstatic about his daughter getting ready to be born. Aiden smiled across from him.

"Okay Miss Reso, are you ready to start pushing and meet your daughter?" The doctor asked lifting her gown.

"Yes." Ajay answered her nerves getting the best of her.

Aiden smiled down at her, "Relax. Breathe."

"On three I want you to push, chin down and focus until I get to ten." The doctor said.

"Okay." Ajay nodded.

"One, two, three..."

Ajay focused all of her energy into her lower body pushing as hard as she could. She wanted this part to be over with as soon as possible and was willing to be exhausted aterwards.

"Eight, nine, ten, relax, very good ajay!" The doctor said.

Chris kissed her cheek as she lay back trying to catch her breath.

"You keep that up she'll be there five pushes tops." Aiden said.

"Get ready to push in one, two, three, go!"

Ajay gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, a low moan leaving her tightly pressed lips.

"Holy shit, I can see her head." Chris announced mesmerized at the process.

Ajay fell back onto the bed after pushing.

She had never experienced exhaustion like this, the pressure was so intense and her back was killing her.

"She's going to be a big girl." The doctor said waiting for ajay to catch a breather.

"So that means this is going to hurt huh?" She whimpered as Aiden dabbed her forehead with a damp cloth.

"Don't worry about that. She's almost here, you'll feel pressure and then relief because it will be over with." Aiden assured with tears in her eyes.

"How do you know all of that?" Ajay gasped.

"I read all of the books and Nana told me too. She laughed, "I'm so proud of you. You're doing so good."

"I have to set a good example for you." She joked, "Chris what color is her hair?"

They both looked over to Chris who was gripping the railings of the bed.

"Yours...but I feel sick dude..." He groaned, not making any sense.

"Joshua Harter, if you dare pass out on me I will kill you!" Ajay threatened.

"I know..." He tried.

"Okay last one if you keep pushing like you have been. One, two, three, push!" The doctor said.

She ignored her throbbing back and pushed as hard as she could. She felt the intense pressure that Aiden had warned her about and then the relief.

"Oh my God! She's here! Our baby's here!" Chris yelled.

Ajay stayed sitting up as the doctor wrapped her in a blanket and suctioned her mouth and nose out. She let loose the loudest scream when she was finally able to and was placed Ajay's waiting arms.

"Happy birthday Mackenzie Rae Harter!" She cried wiping her baby off some more.

Chris was taking deep breaths beside her, tears of his own flowing as he watched Ajay and his daughter.

"She's so beautiful, she's perfect Ajay." he whispered, reaching out to touch the squirming baby.

"Okay daddy, cut the cord." the doctor said handing Chris the instrument and showing him where to cut.

Aiden was snapping pictures for them to capture the first moments of their daughter's life.

"We'll give her right back, we need to weigh her and get her cleaned up some more, and then she's all yours." the nurse smiled taking Mackenzie away.

Ajay finally sat back completely spent with her efforts and beyond euphoric that she had a successful delivery with no problems. She closed her eyes basking in the glow of giving birth to her first child. She opened her eyes to ask Chris to take a picture of her and Aiden, but stopped in shock of what she saw.

Chris and Aiden were looking over at Mackenzie in the bassinet getting cleaned up. Chris pulled her to him for a hug and thanked her for being there with them and getting them through it.

That was fine.

What made Ajay's blood run cold and then boil with molten fury was when Chris cupped Aiden's face and pulled her closer to him for a kiss. Ajay would have been fine with a peck, but that was not what this was. This was a drawn out, sensual, blatantly obvious display of more than affection.

She counted the seconds of the ticking clock that sounded like it was hooked to the speaker system. It was exactly seven seconds before they pulled apart, and then to add insult to injury Chris turned his head and pressed his lips to hers again for another five seconds. She wanted to come off the bed and spear them both.

What the fuck were they thinking? She had just delivered Chris' baby and now they wanted to let it be known that they were more than just friends...**RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER?! **She closed her eyes as they pulled apart and came back to her beside. She forced herself to remain calm and to not let them know that she had seen them.

Maybe Chris was just excited maybe he was caught up in the moment. Ajay had kissed people before in those situations. Never three minutes after she had given birth but hey...everybody was different right?

She pretended she was asleep while the doctors worked on her thinking back to all the times Chris had made her suspicious with his overly affectionate and protective tendencies toward Aiden. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming. Had he been trying to hint to her all along that he wanted to be with Aiden, that he loved Aiden and was only with her because he had fucked up and gotten her pregnant?

She had just entered her own personal hell which was the uncertainty of her and Chris' relationship and her and Aiden's friendship.

* * *

_**Well, well, well....what WAS that kiss about? excuse me....kisses....drama is stirring the pot, hope your ready! hit me up xoxo!!**_


	24. Sugar We're Going Down

_**Sorry about the long wait lovelies I have still been on my honeymoon and have been busy being wifey :) A job that I love by the way :) Please enjoy!! And thanks to those that reviewed I heart you!!**_

* * *

_"Aiden, Aiden, listen to me, stop crying honey so you can hear me." He cooed._

_Ajay gritted her teeth._

_"Listen, stop crying, I'll go over there and let you know what's going on and I'll call you back. Yes, I promise. Calm down for me and I'll call you back in a few." He promised, "You're welcome. It's no problem, okay."_

_He ended the call and turned back to face Ajay who looked pissed._

_"So where are we going?" she asked haughtily.

* * *

_

_"I'm okay. It's passed now." She assured Chris who hadn't moved yet._

_He nodded as he went to sit beside Ajay. She had noticed Chris reaction when it came to Aiden. She knew he wanted her to be a little softer sometimes so he could baby her more but she just couldn't do it. She was who she was and Chris knew that. He did jump at the chance to be there and help Aiden and Ajay noted that fact.

* * *

_

_Aiden was still throwing up as Chris held her hair and rubbed her back. When she was finished he wiped her mouth with a damp towel and gave hr some mouthwash to rinse with. She looked up at her pitiful reflection noticing Chris worried expression._

_She dropped her eyes, "I'm sorry."_

_He put his hand on her back and could feel her crying. He pulled her into his arms._

_"I'm scared." She whispered._

_"I know, but we're here for you and Alex okay. If you need anything Ajay and I are here for you." He said kissing her cheek._

_Ajay opened the door and saw Aiden in his arms with his lips against her cheek. She narrowed her eyes scornfully at Chris who immediately let Aiden go.

* * *

_

_Chris shook his head, "That really worries me. I don't like this at all."_

_"Yeah you worry about her a lot don't you?" Ajay said sharply._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris asked._

_Chris looked disappointed, "Wanting to take care of my girlfriend and my baby is my nature, it's who I am. Don't get mad at me for worrying about Aiden if you won't let me worry about you."_

_"Whatever. Worry about whoever the hell you want to okay?" Ajay muttered._

_She was getting slightly irritated by Chris' preference for Aiden._

_Chris had always wanted a damsel to save. She was just going to have to keep a close eye on Chris and Aiden's relationship from here on out.

* * *

_

_Aiden was asleep on her side with Chris asleep behind her their arms and legs intertwined, his hand on her stomach._

_Ajay saw nothing but jealous rage. She wanted to scream, she wanted to break something, she wanted to punch someone. She shook, her anger quaking her body._

_Chris stirred in his sleep pulling Aiden closer to him and nuzzling into her neck as he grumbled, "Turn off the light."_

_He pulled the blanket up to shield his and Aiden's closed eyes._

_Ajay fought the furious tears that stung her eyes and closed the door. She stormed to her room and slammed the door.

* * *

_

_What made Ajay's blood run cold and then boil with molten fury was when Chris cupped Aiden's face and pulled her closer to him for a kiss. Ajay would have been fine with a peck, but that was not what this was. This was a drawn out, sensual, blatantly obvious display of more than affection._

_She counted the seconds of the ticking clock that sounded like it was hooked to the speaker system. It was exactly seven seconds before they pulled apart, and then to add insult to injury Chris turned his head and pressed his lips to hers again for another five seconds. She wanted to come off the bed and spear them both._

* * *

Ajay sat there completely furious with the fact that she had been so blind, so stupid, so naïve to the game that Aiden and Chris had been playing. Since she had thought back to all of the times she had suspected there was something more than just friendship going on between them. She was so livid that she had trusted Aiden so completely, she should have just listened to Bailey and Mollie when they said she was nothing but trouble. Why did she have to be so stubborn and find out for herself the hard way? She opened her eyes a little after the nurse left. She had brought Mackenzie back to Chris after she was finished getting checked out. She watched through squinted eyes as Chris carefully walked back to the chair and sat down.

"Am I holding her right?" Chris whispered looking up at Aiden hopefully.

She smiled an approving smile, "You're doing great."

If Ajay were diabetic she would have gone into a coma from Aiden's overly sweet tone. She had never found it annoying until now.

"Stop shaking Chris." She laughed softly.

Ajay used to love Aiden's delicate qualities, now they only made her seem that much easier to crush! The only person that could make Ajay that mad was Taylor.

Ajay opened her eyes all the way when she realized they had no intention of looking up at her. Aiden floated around behind Chris and put her arms around him as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"She's so pretty." She whispered, her eyes misting with tears.

"Just think, you'll have your baby soon too and I'll be telling you the same thing." He smiled not taking his eyes off of the sleeping infant.

"I hope she's as pretty as Mackenzie." Aiden smiled.

Chris turned his head, his lips meeting Aiden's for several seconds.

Ajay held her breath to prevent herself from screaming out at them.

"You're her mother; I know she'll be beautiful." He complimented.

Aiden blinked and tears fell down her face.

Ajay wanted to punch them away when Aiden leaned back to peck Chris' lips, "Thank you."

Ajay's hands were in tight fists as she watched Chris stare into her** EX-**best friend's face with a look that clearly read, "_I love you, I adore you, I cherish you._"

"I'm going to go tell everyone the good news." Aiden said standing up.

Chris caught her by the wrist, "Just be careful because Bailey and Mollie are out there and I'm pretty sure they're not too happy about being left out in the waiting room.

She nodded appreciatively at him and looked over at Ajay.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Aiden gushed rushing to her and hugging her.

It took everything in Ajay's power to stop herself from suffocating the life out of the two timing bitch.

"She's so precious and I'm so happy for both of you." Aiden said pulling back from Ajay.

She brushed Ajay's bangs out of her eyes, "Are you feeling well enough for some visitors? I know everybody is about to die to see both of you."

Ajay gritted her teeth so she wouldn't lash out and sink her teeth into Aiden's hand.

Aiden's concern for her was pathetic and enraged her even more.

She nodded slowly not trusting herself to speak.

"Chris bring her over, so Ajay can see her. I'll be right back." Aiden said hugging Ajay again, "I'm so proud of you and your family Ajay."

She left the room just as Chris sat on the bed beside Ajay. She turned the corner and blushed slightly when every pair of eyes in the waiting room fell on her. Adam and Jay rushed up to her having just stepped off the elevator.

"Are Ajay and the baby okay? Can we go see them?" Jay asked.

"They're both fine. She's ready for visitors now, she's in room four oh seven." Aiden replied.

Adam and Jay walked briskly back to their sister's room. Bailey intentionally bumped into Aiden with her shoulder and Mollie muttered, "Bitch." as she passed her.

"Uncle Jay, Uncle Adam." Joey called following his family.

Alex was the last to walk up to her, "Are you okay?"

"I was." Aiden laughed bitterly.

Alex shook his head in disgust at them, "I can't wait to tell them everything and see the shock on their faces."

"I'm not so excited about that." She said quietly.

He checked their surroundings quickly before putting his hands on her stomach, "Are you ready to have our baby now?"

"Ajay made it look easy. I wish I was strong like her." Aiden sighed.

"You'll do fine, you've read all of the books and everything and I'll be there to pull you through and Ajay will too. I'm ready for her to be here, I'm ready to see her." Alex whispered before pressing his lips to hers.

"Me too." She agreed.

"Let's go see Ajay and the baby and then go home, you look exhausted." He suggested.

"I am." She said releasing his hand as they walked down the hall to Ajay's room.

Joey was sitting on the floor outside of her room with his head on his arms that were folded on his knees.

"Joey, honey what's wrong?" Aiden asked.

He looked up at her with his big blue eyes filled with tears and his lower lip was trembling. She held her hand out to him and helped him up as they went into the room.

Aiden sat down on the couch and held him in her arms. He squeezed her tightly.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He pulled away from her, "Everybody likes the baby more than me."

"Joey, that's not true." She said.

He nodded as he played with her hair, "They didn't even see me."

Aiden kissed his forehead, "They're just excited about her that's all. When you were born everyone was excited about you. They just want to meet her and hold her that's all."

"They not forget about me?" he asked.

Aiden smiled, "Nobody would ever forget about you Joey. Everybody still loves you the same, and they love Mackenzie too. Just think you get to finally be a big brother."

He finally smiled, "I want to hold her too."

Aiden looked past him to Ajay who had the strangest look on her face, like disgust or loathing, but Aiden couldn't figure it out.

"Why don't you go and ask if you can. I'm sure your mommy and daddy would love that." She said.

He kissed her cheek, "I love you A-Ten."

"I love you too Joey." She said.

She watched as he crawled into the bed with Ajay. She didn't notice Mollie as she sat down beside her.

"Who better to give that speech than you? _Everybody loves you and me Joey, don't worry you'll always be everybody's favorite, you'll always be number one like me._" Mollie mocked.

"Just let it go and leave me alone." Aiden groaned.

She was so sick of Mollie's shit.

"Why are you even here? You've been Ajay's friend for what, a couple of months, while Bailey and I have been her friends for years? You take off and come flying back on your white horse just in time for Ajay's delivery, you really are a piece of work you know that?" Mollie sneered.

Aiden rolled her eyes, "Right back at you Mollie."

She laughed crudely, "I am **WAITING** for the day that I catch your prissy ass alone, we'll see how much shit you talk then."

"You just continue to be jealous Mollie, I really don't care anymore." Aiden retorted.

Mollie laughed again, "You just wait you'll get what's coming to you, and for your information I'm not jealous. I got what I wanted, he chose me over his relationship with you, so you're the one who should be jealous, bitch."

She got up and left the room without another word. Aiden shook her head trying to ignore her nausea. Alex was holding Mackenzie, so she was stuck for a few more moments until she could escape the glares and the confines of the belly band that was hurting her stomach.

She smiled at Adam who was approaching her, "Isn't she the prettiest baby?"

He took Mollie's vacant seat and grinned at her, "She definitely is, but I am kind of biased."

Aiden smiled at his charm.

"I wanted to thank you for talking to Joey. I hope you didn't think we ignored him on purpose." He said.

"No, I know that. It's not everyday your baby sister has her first child."

He nodded, "He really likes you, more than me I think. That's hard to get Joey to trust you like that; he's been through so much."

"I don't know the whole story but I am very glad that he does trust me like he does. He's a great little boy." Aiden told him.

"Thank you for being such a good friend to Ajay too. You definitely make a good impression on everybody. Nobody has had a bad word to say about you." He said.

Aiden scoffed, "You haven't talked to Bailey or Mollie yet then."

Adam shrugged and smiled his brilliant smile at her, "I don't need to. I can tell you're a good person."

"That's really sweet of you. I needed that." She said.

"No problem." He smiled talking her hand and squeezing it.

Alex who had just handed Mackenzie over to Ajay walked up to the pair, "Did you want me to drive you home? You look really tired?"

"Yes, thank you." She smiled, "Tell Ajay and Chris I'll see them later, okay?"

Adam nodded, "Sure get some rest and thanks again for everything."

She squeezed his hand again before she got up and followed Alex out of the room giving Ajay and Chris a tiny wave.

"Three more months." Alex whispered as they steppe don the elevator.

Aiden kissed his lips hoping to settle her uneasy suspicions about the looks Ajay had been giving her.

**

* * *

BACK IN AJAY'S ROOM

* * *

**

"Daddy, I want breakfast!" Joey pouted at Chris.

He looked over at Ajay not wanting to leave her side.

"Why don't all three of you go and take Joey to eat so I can talk to Bailey and Mollie." She suggested.

"Are you sure." Chris asked skeptically.

"Yes, go ahead. They won't let anything happen to me." She assured motioning at her two stoic friends sitting in chairs against the wall.

Chris finally conceded and the four of them filed out into the hallway to go to the cafeteria.

Ajay smiled down at her daughter who was holding onto her finger, "I should have listened to both of you about her."

Bailey and Mollie looked at each other not believing their ears.

They turned and narrowed their eyes at Ajay who was very obviously fuming.

"What happened?" Mollie asked.

Ajay chewed on her lip as she remembered, the hate venom still coursing through her, "That fucking whore kissed Chris not even two minutes after I had Kenzie."

Their jaws dropped to the ground in shock.

"Not once, not twice, not three times, but **FOUR TIMES**!!" Ajay continued.

They were silent for several moments before Bailey spoke again, "What are you going to do?'

Ajay looked up at them, her eyes filled with hatred and rage, "I don't ever want to see that stupid, prissy, snake charming, slutty bitch again! I don't want her anywhere near me, Chris, Joey, or Kenzie because I may just snap her in half."

Smiles formed on Bailey and Mollie's faces, "We can help you with that."

* * *

_**Told you it was going to be all downhill for awhile....no more allies now, what's a girl to do? stay tuned, next chapter is getting good already!! Please review!! xoxo**_


	25. The Gun Is Mine

_**Thanks to Pennie, BourneBetter67, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, World's Biggest Jericoholic, and babygirl7201984 for reviewing!! Ya'll are the BEST!!**_

_**So...yeah....you're gonna freak at the end....read on lovelies :) xoxomagsxoxo**_

_**ps. thanks to Kennedy for thinking up the title :) and to Demi for being sweet :) and to Dee for putting up with me as always!! lol  
**_

* * *

Two days had passed since Mackenzie's birth. Aiden had tried getting in touch with Ajay to see if she needed any help but Bailey or Mollie always answered her phone and rudely told her that Ajay didn't need her because** THEY** were there. She had finally called Chris to see who things were going. He had told her that it might be better for her to lay low because of Bailey and Mollie. She felt like something was wrong but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what.

She was sitting on the couch having been up all night being sick. Today was going to be a bad day, she could already tell. Alex came down with his suitcase packed for his flight to Orlando.

"Still not feeling any better?" he asked.

Aiden shook her head.

"Where is Ajay, she's usually here by now." Alex pondered pulling on his leather jacket.

She hid her suspicions that something was up from him, knowing he would make a big deal if she told him.

"She does have a newborn she has to take care of." Aiden pointed out, "I'm sure she'll be here in a little while."

He nodded slowly, "I love you and I hope you feel better okay? I'll be home as soon as I can.'

He kissed her stomach gently and then her lips, "Do you want me to wait until she gets here?'

"No, you'll miss your flight. I'll be okay." Aiden promised weakly.

He looked like he was about to argue but didn't. He kissed her again and then headed for the door.

"I love you." He said stopping at the door.

"I love you too." She called

She rested her head against the leather sofa and prayed that Ajay showed up soon.

**

* * *

THREE HOURS LATER

* * *

**

Aiden gripped the counter top shaking uncontrollably after spending the last five minutes heaving. She cleaned herself up and went to the bedroom to check her cell phone. No missed calls. She hit Ajay's speed dial and there was no answer. She was really worried now. She put on some jeans and boots and pulled her black trench coat on over her t-shirt. She knew she shouldn't be driving in her condition but she also knew she couldn't stay at the house by herself. She pulled into their driveway and slowly made it to the front door. She bent slightly at the waist as a spasm shot through her. She knocked when it was finally gone. Ajay opened the door and crossed her arms when she saw Aiden standing there.

Aiden looked up at her, "Umm, I thought you were going to come over."

"I'm not your fucking babysitter." She snapped.

Aiden recoiled as if she had been slapped.

"What's wrong? What happened?" she asked wincing as another spasm hit her.

"You don't remember making out with **MY** boyfriend after I gave birth to **OUR** daughter?" she spat.

"That's not what happened…I was just as surprised as you when…" Aiden tried.

Ajay got in her face then, "Don't hand me that shit!! I trusted you and you just weaseled your way in to make a move on Chris."

Aiden gasped as she tried to focus on not throwing up, "I wouldn't do that to you! Chris loves you too much to even think about being with someone else. You're wrong."

"So I didn't see the two of you kiss four times?" Ajay questioned.

Aiden was silent.

"He was just excited. I didn't even know he was going to do that." She finally said.

"And that makes it okay?" Ajay asked.

Aiden shook her head, "No it doesn't. I'm sorry Ajay; you have to know it didn't mean anything."

"I don't care what the fuck it _meant_, your lips should have been no where near his!!" She yelled, "I don't ever want to see you again Aiden. Don't speak to me ever again and stay the _fuck_ away from my family."

Aiden's frantic eyes looked into Ajay's, "No, Ajay, please, I need you! I can't stay by myself, I'm too sick to take care of myself."

"You're not my problem anymore. You should have thought about all of this before you kissed Chris." Ajay said dismissively.

Aiden's lip trembled as her tears fell, "Please, please don't do this. I can't lose you as my friend. I won't have anyone."

"That's not my fault." She shrugged.

"What about my baby?" Aiden sobbed.

"Figure it out for yourself. I'm done with you!" Ajay yelled again, just as Bailey and Mollie pulled up.

They brushed past her jostling her in the process.

"What the fuck is **SHE **doing here?" Mollie asked.

"She was just leaving." Ajay told them.

Aiden shook her head, "Please Ajay…"

"I'm not going to stay if she is." Bailey remarked.

"Neither am I." Mollie agreed.

Aiden curled into herself as she sobbed softly.

"No, I invited the two of you over, not her. So if you don't mind, I need to check on my children and you need to leave. Don't come over and don't call me or Chris ever again." Ajay said as she slammed the door in Aiden's face.

Aiden knelt down as the pain of losing her best friend hit her all at once. She held her stomach as she cried; violent tremors shook her through and through. She wasn't sure if she could bear this burden on top of all of her others. She had to compose herself so she could leave before Mollie or Bailey or Ajay or herself came out to deal with her.

She was all alone now; the only person that could protect her was all the way down in Florida.

She stumbled to her car and fell into the driver's seat. She couldn't see anything because she was crying so hard. She had never felt so hopeless before in her entire life. She screamed into the steering wheel to let out her frustrations. She threw her head back to try and get a grip on her breathing before she hyperventilated and passed out. Her shaking hand went to turn the ignition and she slowly made her way back home. She pulled over once to throw up and then try to compose herself again.

She finally made it home and barely made it to the couch before she passed out due to exhaustion. It was her body's way of protecting her and her child; it just shut down so she could slip into unconsciousness and not have to deal with the bleakness of her new reality.

**

* * *

AJAY'S HOUSE

* * *

**

"I just cant' believe that stupid bitch showed up here like nothing had happened." Mollie scoffed.

"She didn't even act like she knew what I was talking about." Ajay muttered, still irritated by Aiden's sudden appearance.

"Have you confronted Chris about it yet?' Bailey wondered sipping on her coffee.

"No, I'm not going to either." Ajay said.

Mollie looked up at her like she was dumb, "Why the hell not? Chris is just as guilty as Aiden." Ajay rolled her eyes, "I know that, but if I confront him about anything having to do with her he'll brush it off and then defend her just like everybody else does."

"You did it too." Bailey pointed out."

"I know how she is now. Lay off of me." Ajay snapped, "I'm not telling Chris, hopefully she won't either."

"But if she does you know we're on your side right?" Mollie smiled, she was glad to have Ajay back as her friend.

Ajay nodded.

As mad as she was at Aiden, somewhere in the back of her mind she was worried about her. The look on Aiden's face, one of fear and pain would not get out of her head. She didn't want anything to happen to her. She forgot about Aiden and went back to talking with the girls.

* * *

Aiden groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her stomach was churning again and the house was completely dark.

How long had she been out for?

She gingerly pushed herself up and turned on the lamp beside the couch. She whimpered as she felt her stomach cramp. Her cell phone rang shrilly scaring her to death.

"Hello?" she answered weakly.

"Aiden! I have been trying to get in touch with you and Ajay the whole fucking day! Where the hell have you been? Are you okay?" Alex paused and waited for her to answer.

She was trying to hold her tears back so he wouldn't notice them in her voice but she failed miserably.

"Aiden!" he said her name sharply.

"It's been a bad day." Was the only response she could muster.

"Is she there with you now?" he asked.

"No." she choked out.

"Well let me call her and see if she can come back over to stay with you." He sighed.

"She's got Joey and the baby to deal with, its fine. I'm just going to go to bed." She cried.

"It scares me that you're there by yourself and in the shape that you are. She won't mind honey." He said.

Aiden's chest tightened knowing that Ajay did mind very much indeed. She tried to stop herself from sobbing on the phone but her desperation was making her extremely upset.

"Baby, you don't sound good at all.' Alex worried.

Aiden was hiccupping softly, "I'm, I'm fine. Please I just want to go-go lay down. P-please." She cried curling into herself.

Alex was silent on the other line for a moment, "Okay, okay, calm down for me though baby. If I call, you better answer your phone though. I'm going to go ahead and leave the show early so I can get home to take care of you." He told her.

"Okay." She cried.

"I love you." He said dejectedly.

"Love you too." Aiden said ending the phone call.

Alex stared at his phone and chewed on his lip. She had never sounded that bad before. Chris noticed Alex's posture and walked over to him, "Was that Aiden?"

Alex looked up slowly, "Yeah, she said she had a pretty rough day."

Chris' brow furrowed, "That's what Ajay said too. I'm sorry man, but the good news is it will all be over with soon."

Alex was silent, lost in thought about Aiden. Chris saw how worried he was, she must have sounded really bad.

"Why don't I go find Jeff and tell him you need to leave? I'm sure he won't mind." Chris offered.

"Thanks." He said going to their locker room.

* * *

Aiden went to the kitchen and made her a sandwich then went upstairs to her bedroom. Before she could get comfortable her phone rang again. Her heart raced when she saw that it was Ajay.

"Hello?" she asked hopefully.

"Listen, I'm going to make this really short and sweet okay?" she said angrily.

Tears welled up in Aiden's eyes again; she had hoped that this morning had been all a dream.

"Okay." She said quietly.

"You keep your mouth shut about our fight this morning and I wont' tell Bailey and Mollie that you married Alex and are pregnant with his kid." She bargained.

"Ajay, please, I can't fight with you. I need you, you're my best friend." Aiden cried.

"Best friends don't kiss their best friends boyfriend **EVER!** Do we have a deal or am I going to have to make a few more phone calls?" Ajay screamed into the phone.

Even as angry and as pissed as she was hearing how upset Aiden was kind of hit her soft spot.

"I won't say anything." Aiden whispered.

Ajay thought about her biggest fear of Chris leaving her and their children and forgot about her sympathy. Nothing came before her babies and Chris, especially not a two timing tramp like Aiden.

"I'll just tell Chris you've been doing okay and pretend I'm still coming over there and you do the same. If you fuck this up, your secrets are out bitch." She said hanging up the phone.

Aiden threw her phone into the bed and fell back onto the pillows. Three more months she had to successfully hide her marriage and pregnancy from Bailey and Mollie, her illness from Alex, and now her fight with Ajay from Chris. If her child weren't involved nothing would matter, but she had to pull this off, she had to for her baby. Nothing was more important to her, not even Alex. She would do, say, or be anything to ensure her daughter's safety. She just hoped her frail, weakened body was up for the challenge as well.

* * *

Alex rushed into his house the next morning and up the stairs to his bedroom. He dropped his bags and went to Aiden who was asleep. He gently pulled the covers off of her and placed a hand onto her womb and kissed her lips.

"Hey pretty girl." He smiled down at her.

She started crying instantly.

Alex looked at her confused, "Honey, don't cry, don't be upset."

He kicked off his shoes and lay down beside her cradling her to his chest. He held her and let her cry for close to twenty minutes before she finally slowed down and was sniffing quietly.

"What was that about babe?" he asked into her hair.

Aiden sighed, "I'm tired. I'm so tired of everything Alex. I'm ready to be done."

His fingertips ran up and down her arm, "I know you are sweetheart. I'm proud of you for being so strong to have made it this far. Our little girl will be here soon and then we won't have anymore secrets."

"_If we even make it until she's born._" Aiden thought sadly.

She snuggled closer into her husband's side and prayed that everything would be alright.

**

* * *

ONE MONTH LATER

* * *

**

Late that night Chris finally arrived home after several delays due to bad storms in the south. The house was dark and he was pretty sure everybody was asleep. He tip toed through the house hoping he didn't wake his sleeping daughter up. He got to his room glad to see that Joey was asleep in his own room. He closed the door and took off his clothes and slid into bed with Ajay. He kissed her awake and she threw her arms around his neck.

"I missed you." She whispered in his ear as his lips went to her throat.

"I missed you too' he smiled as he nudged her with his erection.

Ajay giggled, "I see."

"Do you want to try?" he asked looking into her eyes hopefully.

She nodded, "Just take it easy on me."

He chuckled and positioned himself. He had been antsy the past month waiting for Ajay to be cleared to have sex again. She held her breath as he joined their bodies. He was slowly delving into her and it was only mildly uncomfortable. He waited a few moments to move again and was glad that she hadn't protested yet. He kept up his slow pace not wanting to cause her any discomfort until she urged him to go faster. He grinned as he thrust his hips into her harder and faster. Ajay held onto him as she felt her orgasm creeping up.

"Chris." She whimpered as she let go.

He grunted as he continued to move back and forth into her. She was almost finished by the time he found his release. His whole body shuddered into hers and he threw his head back as he jerked her body into his once more.

"Hmmm….yeah…Aiden…"

* * *

_**One word: DAMMNNNN!!!! (that is NOT a typo BTW :) how's that boy going to get out of this one??? let me know :) xoxo**_


	26. Forgive Me

_**Thanks to Kennedy and Demi for reviewing!! I shall be dedicating a chapter to you lovelies very soon :) Enjoy!**_

* * *

As soon as her name left his lips his eyes shot open in disbelief. Ajay shoved him off of her and stormed to the bathroom and slammed the door. Chris sat back on his knees trying to catch his breath. He hadn't meant to say Aiden's name at all. He sighed and trudged to the bathroom door already knowing she had locked it.

"Ajay, come on honey, I'm sorry. Will you open the door so I can explain?" he asked.

"Go fuck yourself Chris! You just called me your best friends fucking wife's name while we were having sex, so go to hell I don't want to hear your explanation." She yelled.

He knew she was crying and knew how bad he'd messed up.

"Ajay, please unlock the door so that I can talk to you baby, alright?" he pleaded.

"Leave me alone, seriously go and sleep on the couch, I don't even want to look at you." She cried.

Chris dropped his head in defeat, "I'm sorry Ajay. I wasn't even thinking about her sexually. I've just been worried about her."

"Shut up and go. Now!" she sobbed.

She knew he had a thing for Aiden, she _KNEW_ he did. He may not be cheating on her physically…yet but there was a thing as an emotional affair and he was in deep with the dumb whore.

"I love you and I'm sorry." She heard him say through the door.

She began crying even harder when she heard the bedroom door open and shut indicating that he had gone downstairs. She sat in the bathroom for a little while longer before going back to their bed and crying herself to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Ajay came downstairs to find Chris, Joey, and Kenzie on the couch watching cartoons. Chris was feeding his daughter and smiling down at her, not noticing Ajay until she was right beside him on the couch.

"Good morning." He greeted cautiously, "We mad pancakes for you in the kitchen."

She nodded dismissively and went to fix herself a plate.

Chris followed her, "Will you let me talk to you about last night now?"

Ajay remained silent.

"I swear to you I wasn't even thinking about her. Alex left early again from the tapings to come home because Aiden was in such bad shape and I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I was worried about her. I'm so, so sorry about what I said, it was an honest mistake, I promise." He said.

Ajay took Mackenzie from him and started to burp her, "I'm still really mad and would appreciate it if you would just leave for the day. I really just don't even want to be around you."

Chris stared at her for several moments, if that's what you really want, I'll go."

"It is." Ajay huffed.

He nodded, "I guess I'll be back later, just call me." He said kissing her and Kenzie's cheek.

She waited for Chris to pull out of the garage before she called Bailey and Mollie to come over. They were going to shit when they heard what Chris had done.

* * *

Chris knocked on Alex's door hoping that they were up this early. Alex opened the door and looked at Chris questioningly.

"Can I hang out for a little while?" Chris asked.

"Sure." Alex shrugged, "I gotta run back upstairs to check on Aiden."

Chris closed the door behind him, "Is she not feeling good again?"

Alex shook his head, "She's been really bad off."

Chris sat on the couch just realizing that he hadn't seen Aiden since Kenzie had been born. He must have been so busy with his family he hadn't even realized. A few minutes later Alex returned downstairs, this time with Aiden. The breath rushed out of him when he saw her.

She was so pale and gaunt and frail looking it actually amazed him that she was able to get out of bed and walk around. Her skin looked paper thin and waxy and the bones in her hands were all clearly visible as she clung to her husband who was helping her to the couch. She eased herself down on the cushion and Alex covered her shivering frame with a blanket. His watchful eyes never left his wife as he cared for her diligently. He had reclined her back so she would at least _look_ comfortable.

He brought her hand to his lips, "I'll be right back, I'm going to fix you something to eat."

Her glassy eyes blinked slowly, her only indication that she heard him. Chris thought that he was looking at a terminally ill patient in a hospital, not his vibrant, full of life, best friend's wife. It was like all of that had been sucked out of her. She was a shell, a living corpse.

"Aiden, what happened?" he asked his voice barely above a whisper.

She wet her chapped lips, "I know I look terrible. Mornings are always bad now."

Her voice was faint and scratchy, like she had screamed until her vocal chords were bleeding and raw. He wanted to hold her hand but he was afraid that if he touched her she would crumble into dust.

"Ajay didn't tell me that you were this bad off honey" he told her quietly.

She closed here eyes as she always did when she heard Ajay's name. Even after a month the pain of losing her friendship still hurt her tremendously.

"I asked her not to. I don't want you to worry." She rasped.

He tentatively covered her hand with his. She was freezing cold which made him gasp.

"Is there anything I can do?" he wondered.

She shook her head as Alex returned with her tray of breakfast. He helped her sit up before he placed the tray across her lap.

"Why don't you go play video games or something? I'll be okay." Aiden suggested when she felt both pairs of eyes on her.

"I'm not leaving you.' Alex dismissed.

"You need a break; you've done nothing but take care of me when you come home." She argued.

Alex conceded though it was quite obvious he did not want to. Chris finally took his eyes off of Aiden and followed Alex to his game room.

They started playing Halo 3 and were deep into the game when Chris finally spoke, "I didn't know she was that bad off."

"She's been sick non-stop. They thought she was having an allergic reaction to the baby but ruled that out and said that she's still extremely stressed out. Why, I don't know unless she's nervous about going into labor or something. I mean she hasn't been around Bailey or Mollie or anything she's just been here and all she does is sleep, eat, and throw up unfortunately."

"I didn't even realize I haven't seen her since Kenzie was born." Chris said.

Alex nodded, "Don't feel bad, you see she's not really in the best shape for visitors."

"There's nothing the doctor's can do?" he asked.

Alex shrugged, "She's the only one that can de-stress herself. She won't tell me why she's so upset, so it's got to be about the baby and she doesn't want to tell me because she thinks I'll be mad or something, I don't know."

They played for a few more minutes before Alex changed the subject, "So what are you doing coming over here so early, shouldn't you be helping Ajay with the kids?"

Chris swallowed audibly, and didn't answer.

They were attempting a difficult maneuver in the game and he hoped Alex would not press him and focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately Alex was an avid gamer and breezed through the part and paused the game. He leaned back in his chair and looked over at Chris waiting for an answer.

"I don't want to talk about it." Chris groaned.

"Why not? It's just me." Alex scoffed.

"Because it embarrassing that's why." He said crossing his arms in a pout.

"Look either you can tell me or I'll call Ajay and find out from her." he threatened.

Chris shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Ajay and I had sex for the first time last night since Kenzie was born."

"You couldn't get it up?" Alex interjected.

Chris glared at him, "No, that's never a problem thank you very much."

"So what was the problem then?" he continued.

Chris sighed deeply, "I called Ajay…Aiden. It was an accident, a total mistake. I wasn't even thinking about Aiden like that. I was worried about her because you left early again and her name just slipped out."

Alex burst out into laughter, "You big dumb ass!"

"Thanks for that, I appreciate it." Chris grumbled as Alex continued to laugh, "Dude it's not funny. Shouldn't you be mad at me or something?"

Alex sat back, "I don't care. I feel bad for you because you're in the doghouse but you're not madly, secretly in love with my wife or anything. The two of you aren't going to run away to be together it's not that big of a deal. But I get why the Punks mad, that is her biggest fear."

"Because of her parents I know." Chris finished, "I really was only worried about Aiden, she's like my little sister that's all."

Alex shrugged again un-pausing the game, "Oh well, you're screwed now. Did you at least get to go?"

"Yeah." Chris answered.

"See it could be worse. You could've been in trouble for nothing." He said grinning.

"I guess this is why we're friends." Chris smiled.

Alex laughed and continued playing, "I guess so."

* * *

"So you're telling me that in the middle of his orgasm when he should be screaming your name he called Aiden's out?" Bailey asked rocking a fussy Jayden.

Ajay had tears in her eyes as she held Kenzie, "Uggh! I was so embarrassed, and hurt. I swear I could have punched him in the face."

"So now are you going to bring up the whole thing at the hospital?" Mollie asked.

"I don't know." She sighed.

"Where is Chris?" Bailey asked, just now noticing his absence.

"I told him to leave this morning that I didn't want him around." Ajay told her.

Mollie shrugged nonchalantly, "He's probably over at Alex's house. Oh!! Want me to go check?"

Ajay's head snapped up, it only made sense that he would go to his best friend's house.

"Surely he would have more sense than that." She thought aloud.

Bailey and Mollie looked at her confused by her statement.

"It's just Alex; he's not _THAT_ much trouble." Bailey laughed trying to assure Ajay.

Mollie figured out Ajay's expression, "Aiden's over there isn't she?'

Ajay nodded as more tears fell.

"Let's just go kick her ass." Mollie said standing up, "It won't be hard."

"We don't even know if he's over there or not." Bailey dismissed.

"Where else would he go?" Mollie questioned.

Ajay picked up her phone and called Chris.

"Hey baby." He greeted

"Hey, ummm, where are you?" she asked.

"I'm at Alex's why? Do you need something?" he wondered.

"No, just when you're ready, come home so we can talk." She said.

"Okay, I'll be there in an hour. I'm helping Alex move something to the nursery." He said, "I love you."

She hung up the phone, her face completely deadpanned.

"And?" Both girls urged.

"He was over there, he said he would be home in an hour." She whispered.

"And Aiden was there too huh?" Mollie implied.

"Yeah." Ajay confirmed.

"She is beyond annoying." Mollie griped.

"Are you going to tell Chris how you feel when he gets here?" Bailey asked.

Ajay nodded.

* * *

An hour later Ajay was sitting at the house with Kenzie waiting for Chris. Bailey had offered to watch Joey for the night and had gone home with Mollie in tow. He let himself in and kissed Ajay and took Kenzie from her.

"I missed you guys today' he said looking over at his girlfriend.

"We missed you too." She admitted.

She could see he was surprised by her statement.

"I'm really sorry honey. I didn't meant to call you Aiden." He apologized again.

She nodded even though it killed her to do so. She was not going to lose Chris. She would have a complete meltdown if she did.

"Do you forgive me?' he asked kissing the back of her hand.

Her mind was screaming no, she wanted to ask him why the hell he went over to Alex's house **KNOWING** that Aiden was there. She wanted to ask him why the hell he kissed Aiden minutes after she gave birth to their daughter. Why did he take that moment from her and share it with the stupid little bitch instead. She couldn't understand his reasoning at all. She always felt that he was more attracted to Aiden because they were both so much alike, but he didn't have to flaunt his preference for her in her face.

"Yes, but I will beat you if it ever happens again" She gave in.

Her chest hurt from the pain of giving in. She would have never compromised before she had Kenzie. She would have packed Joey and herself up and went to Jay's and let Chris suffer without her, but she couldn't make rash decisions like that now. She had a baby with him, and she had to think of their family now before her own needs not matter how much it killed her to do it.

"Having her has really changed you.' Chris commented with a slight smile on his face.

Was he a fucking mind reader now or something?

"What do you mean?" she asked quirking her eyebrows.

His hand went to the back of her neck and pulled her to him for a kiss.

"Usually we would have had a big huge fight and yell and scream, and I'm really glad we didn't. I don't want to fight with you and especially not in front of our kids. Thank you for understanding that it was a mistake on my part that will never happen again." He said pressing his lips to hers again.

She smiled with furious tears welling up. Her children and her love for them were the only reason she was being so tolerant and forgiving.

"I love you Chris." She aid looking down at their daughter.

He kissed her forehead gently, "I love you too baby."

Looking into Kenzie's big blue eyes only instilled even further in her that she had made the necessary decision. She could only pray now that Chris didn't revoke her choice and leave his family to be with Aiden.

* * *

_**Seems like Ajay had her mind made up for her....more drama to come :) REVIEW PLEASE!! (I mean, don't you want a shout out? lol) xoxoxo**_


	27. Dead To Me

_**Here we go, since you showed me so much love last chapter....here is another!! **_

_**To World's Biggest Jericoholic, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, babygirl7201984, grleviathan....Thanks for reviewing last chapter :)**_

* * *

Chris pulled Ajay to his chest later that night. They were both still breathing heavily.

"Well that went a lot better than last time." He joked.

Ajay laughed even thought she didn't find it funny. She closed her eyes as content as she could be.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked after a few moments.

"You just did." She teased.

"Smart ass." He smirked before growing serious, "Why didn't you tell me how bad off Aiden was?"

Ajay froze; she couldn't let on that the reason she didn't know was because of their fight. She had to think quick or she could very well lose Chris.

"She's been sick, I told you that but she was always okay when I left her to come home." She said hoping she sounded believable, "What was wrong with her?"

"She looked awful. I mean she looked like a pregnant skeleton, like she was half dead or something." He murmured.

Ajay chewed on her lip; he just could not seem to keep his mind off of Aiden for longer than a few minutes.

"She hasn't looked that way when you're with her?" he asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Not really, maybe it's because I'm around her all the time though." She tried that angle.

Chris nodded, "Do you think we should go over there more often? I mean maybe it will cheer her up some. Alex said that she still seemed pretty stressed but he doesn't know why."

Ajay sighed, "She's always so tired babe, and she doesn't want anyone to see her in such bad shape. She's probably still stressed about being pregnant, but she hasn't told me anything."

"Too bad we can't help her." he said sadly.

"Yeah, too bad." Ajay muttered pretending she was falling asleep so he would stop talking about the dumb whore.

Ajay didn't feel sorry for her at all, she felt it was karma coming to bite her in the ass for being such a bitch. She was getting what she deserved for trying to ruin her family.

**

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

* * *

**

Ajay was holding Kenzie in her arms waiting for their name to be called to go see the doctor for her check up. She wiped her daughter's mouth free of her spittle. Hearing the door open she looked up and sucked in a sharp breath when she saw Aiden freeze at the door.

Her compassionate side wanted to go and hold her and comfort the fragile looking girl. Chris had hit her appearance dead on, she looked completely awful. Even with her expertise in make up and fashion she was still unable to mask the sadness and how very obviously she was suffering. Ajay glanced down at her belly and saw that it too was a little more noticeable than usual due to her frailness.

Aiden approached her cautiously, "Hi."

Ajay stared at her like she had morphed into a life size scorpion and clutched Kenzie to her tightly.

"How's everything been going?" Aiden asked quietly.

"Fine." Ajay said.

"She's getting big, and she's just as pretty as ever." Aiden complimented.

Ajay gritted her teeth, why did she insist on being so damn nice?

"Thank you." She replied.

"So umm, are you doing anything special for Valentine's day this weekend?" Aiden asked biting on her lip.

Ajay sighed, "We're going over to Bailey's on Friday and then we're spending Valentine's Day on Saturday at the house. Why? Were you wondering if you were going to be able to see Chris?"

"No." She said shaking her head, "I do miss you both though. It's been really hard without you."

Ajay put Kenzie in her car seat, "Don't guilt trip me bitch, this is all your fault."

Aiden's tears started falling then, "I'm sorry Ajay."

"Stay away from me and my family, you're dead to me." She hissed.

Aiden stifled a sob and took off out of the doctor's office. Ajay could feel the stares from the other patients but could honestly care less. She wasn't in the wrong for standing up for her family and protecting them from that conniving slut.

"Miss Reso you can come on back." A nurse called.

* * *

Aiden went straight home and collapsed on the bed and bawled. This was by far her worst day yet. Her baby's heartbeat was semi irregular, she got a stern lecture from her doctor about her stress levels and Ajay hated her more than ever. She cried her eyes out until she had another black out. She faded into the peaceful oblivion, thankful for the nothingness.

**

* * *

FRIDAY NIGHT FEBRUARY 13

* * *

**

"Oh thank goodness, I didn't think you were ever going to get here." Ajay rejoiced when Chris walked through the door of the house they shared.

"I know I'm sorry. I actually left Alex at the airport; his luggage was on the flight that was an hour behind us." He rushed stripping off his clothes as he went upstairs to jump in the shower.

He turned on the water and poked his head back into the bedroom, "Happy almost Valentine, babe. Look in my jacket pocket I got your favorite for an early surprise."

Ajay clapped her hands excitedly, making Kenzie giggle from her swing.

"See this is why I love you." Ajay smiled at her treat of Starbursts.

He winked at her before hopping back into the shower.

"Will you pick me out something to wear?' he called from the shower.

"I already did, and you'll probably hate it but Petey and James are being forced to dress up too, since we can't go out to eat somewhere romantic with the babies." She answered.

She lifted Kenzie out of the swing and into the air, "It's all your fault you rotten baby! Mommy has to put your shoes on, and try to keep them on at least until we get there okay?"

She laid her on the bed just as Chris stepped out of the shower.

"I like her dress." He said towel drying his hair.

"Thank you. I picked it up the other day." Ajay said fixing the red and white dress.

A few minutes later Chris had dried his hair and was dressed sans his tie which he let Ajay handle.

"Let's go so we won't be too terribly late." Ajay rushed.

Chris picked up Kenzie's car seat and followed his girlfriend to the car.

* * *

"Aiden!" Alex called coming into their house.

He had just gotten his luggage two hours after Chris had left him to go to Bailey's Valentine's Day party. He had been calling the house phone and her cell and had gotten no answer, so of course he expected the worst. After checking downstairs he ran upstairs to their room.

His steps stuttered when he saw Aiden's haphazard position on the bed. Her feet were dangling off the side and her upper body was twisted at an odd angel. Her shallow breaths comforted him but only a little.

He went to her and gently shook her, "Aiden?"

After several agonizing moments she slowly began to come around.

"What happened?" She asked groggily, her hands instantly going to her stomach.

"I was hoping you could tell me." He said as calmly as he could.

She looked confused, "What's today?"

"Friday." He supplied.

He saw the look of surprise and fear in her face before she could hide it.

"Tell me what happened." He demanded.

"I was just confused." She tried.

"Bullshit. Tell me what the hell you were doing passed out, alone, and completely disoriented." He ordered cutting right to the chase.

Aiden sat Indian style in the bed trying to stave off the sickness, "Ajay was going to the party, and I told her she could go get ready."

Alex shook his head, "We swore we would never lie to each other, don't start now. I've had a feeling something was up, so tell me the truth."

To his surprise Aiden burst into tears almost immediately and fell into his arms.

"I can't do it anymore Alex. I'm too afraid to be by myself.' She sobbed.

"Slow down and talk to me." He said not liking what she had just said.

The last thing I remember was coming home from the doctor and falling into bed because I was so upset." She cried.

Alex hadn't moved, "Your appointment was first thing Thursday morning." He said, "Why were you upset?"

Aiden couldn't hide anymore; she was terrified that she had passed out for well over twenty four hours.

"I haven't told you everything." She began.

"Tell me now." He pleaded; completely surprised that she had kept secrets from him.

She closed her eyes; she couldn't look at the disappointment on his face, "I'm a lot sicker than you know."

"What do you mean?" he asked not sure if he wanted to know.

Aiden sniffed, "I have Toxemia, which may have been the reason I was throwing up all the time, but more dangerous than that is that it may be related to my blood pressure. If it elevates too high, I apparently black out and could possibly die from it, that's what the doctor's have told me."

Alex stood and paced the room, "Aiden, you've been nothing but stressed your entire pregnancy, and you're telling me you could die from this!?"

Aiden lowered her head in defeat and relief that she no longer had to carry this burden around.

"What about the baby?" he asked, still pacing.

"She hasn't shown any signs of being affected until yesterday, her heartbeat was a little irregular, but the doctor said that he wasn't worried about it because all of her tests came back fine.

She heard his sigh of relief.

"Is there anything else I need to know Aiden?" he asked stopping to look at her.

He knew there was just by they look on her face, "What?

She started crying again, "A-A-Ajay hasn't been s-staying with me."

He stopped, and narrowed his intense eyes at her, "What the fuck does that mean?"

Aiden closed her eyes, scared of what he would do when he knew the truth.

She gasped when she felt his hands lock onto her shoulders.

"Tell me what that means." He ordered when she finally opened her eyes.

"We got into a fight after Kenzie was born because…because Chris kissed me in the delivery room, and she thinks that he secretly wants to be with me. I went to her house the first time you left and she told me then. I ran into her yesterday at the doctor's and she…she was mean to me and made me all upset and that's when I came home and blacked out." She told him tearfully.

"You've been staying by yourself in the condition you've been in for a fucking month and a half?" he growled out.

Aiden nodded.

"Did she know how sick you were?" he questioned.

She hesitated, "Yes."

That was when he snapped.

He went into the closet and tore an outfit for Aiden off the hangers, "Get fucking dressed. I'm ending this shit tonight!"

* * *

_**And he is NOT bullshitting kiddies!! the big reveal is next....stay tuned!! Please review :) xoxo  
**_


	28. Truth Comes Out

_**Thanks so much to Pennie, Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, World's Biggest Jericoholic, and grleviathan for their reviews!! you ROCK!! This one's for you!!**_

* * *

"Hey come on in." Petey greeted as he kissed his crying daughter's forehead.

"What did you do to the baby?" Ajay teased as she walked in with Chris.

"She didn't take a very long nap today so she's a little fussy." He said looking down at her.

"I see, it's probably a good thing we didn't go out somewhere to eat." She smiled walking in to the living room, "And you look very handsome by the way."

Petey looked down at his attire, "Thanks, but wait till you see Storm."

Ajay and Chris shared a look, not knowing what to expect.

"Bout time you got here." Mollie smiled as she helped Bailey set the dining room table.

"Yeah, yeah. It takes awhile to look this good you know." Ajay joked.

"Wow, you sounded just like Velvet." Bailey teased.

"They're here, so can I take this damn tie off now?" James groaned as he appeared from the kitchen.

"Jimmy, you look so cute in it though." Ajay and Bailey said at the same time.

He rolled his eyes and flopped down on the couch with Chris.

"So was Joey all excited to go stay with Gran for the weekend?" Mollie asked.

"Sort of, he hates being away from us but once he got there he was fine." Ajay answered.

"Let's eat." Bailey announced.

* * *

Aiden had gotten dressed reluctantly and was going to the car when Alex stopped her at the garage.

"I'm not mad at you sweetheart. I want you to calm down, and let me handle this okay?" he asked.

She nodded slowly as her lip trembled.

He was trying very hard not to show his anger. He didn't want to upset her anymore than she already was but he was not going to let this go without some answers. He helped her into the car and they pulled out of the drive, headed for Bailey's house.

* * *

"This was such a fun idea to get everyone together." Mollie smiled around the table.

"It was, and dinner was great Bailey." Chris agreed.

They chatted through the different courses Bailey had prepared and were almost to dessert when the doorbell rang.

"Wonder who that could be?" Bailey asked standing up.

"I'll go get it." Petey said putting his napkin on the table.

He opened the door, shocked to see Alex and Aiden standing on the snow covered doorstep.

"Umm, I didn't know you guys were coming." He murmured.

Alex looked furious and ready for a fight.

"We weren't invited, but I need to speak with everyone." Alex said his voice low and dangerous.

Petey hesitated when he saw Aiden slightly behind Alex trembling and crying. Alex didn't wait for permission and walked past Petey to the dining room with Aiden in tow. Everyone's surprised faces turned to look at Alex.

"What's going on?" Chris asked when he noticed Aiden's tears.

"I need to talk to Ajay." He replied.

Ajay glared at Aiden who had her head down.

"You want to tell me why the fuck you haven't been staying with her?" Alex began, his eyes locking on Ajay.

Chris looked at his girlfriend completely confused.

"You're not going to come in here and ruin our dinner…" Bailey stated standing again.

"You sit down and shut up, I'll deal with you next." He bellowed.

Bailey sat back down slowly; she'd never seen him in this kind of mood.

"Come on Ajay, go ahead and fess up because if you don't I will." Alex taunted.

Ajay sat furiously glaring at Aiden, "I stopped staying with her because she was trying to ruin my family"

Chris' brow furrowed, "You left her by herself?"

"Yes." Ajay answered.

"Ruin our family…how?" he questioned, still confused.

"Don't act so innocent Chris, she saw you kiss Aiden several times at the hospital." Mollie interjected.

"And she said that you've always defended and protected her at the drop of the hat. You left her no choice." Bailey added.

"Those kisses meant nothing, they were completely platonic. I was thankful that she was there for us when we needed her the most, that's it. Aiden is my friend, that's all." Chris said his temper rising.

"So you kissed her to show her**_ OUR_** gratitude? What if I had done that?" Ajay turned on him.

"You do, all the time. You kiss a bunch of guys and I never think twice about it because I know it means nothing." He countered.

"Whatever Chris. Those were not _thank-you-for-being-my-friend-kisses._ They were much more." She snapped.

Chris shook his head angrily, "I can't believe that you abandoned her because of your stupid insecurities. She was there for us Ajay."

"Wait, what are you talking about, abandon? She's supposedly not even with him?" Bailey asked.

"I've got to sit down." Aiden said quietly.

Alex whipped around and walked her into the living room to the couch. Chris glared at Ajay before going to sit with Aiden. Furious tears sprung to her eyes; he had chosen Aiden over her again. Everybody followed into the living room.

"What is going on?" Bailey demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Alex, don't do it." Chris pleaded as he cradled Aiden in his arms.

Alex looked at Aiden who was still crying and shivering, "She can't keep going like this."

"Do you really wonder why Ajay feels the way she does about her when you do things like this? I mean, look at you! She's not your girlfriend, Ajay is." Mollie defended.

"You don't know anything Mollie." Chris said.

"We're waiting." Bailey gestured sarcastically.

Alex stood up after he kissed Aiden's cheek and went to face Bailey.

"Ajay was supposed to stay with Aiden because she's been very sick." He started.

Bailey shrugged, "How is that her responsibility?"

Alex took a deep breath, "Because she and Chris were the only ones who knew that Aiden is pregnant."

Bailey swallowed audibly as tears stung her eyes. She let them fall down her face as she stared at the very first man she had ever loved. She had always pictured him as hers. She had always hoped that somehow they would figure out a way to be together again, but he had ruined everything, and she was mad as hell about it.

"I told you this was going to happen, and you didn't listen." Bailey yelled, "When did you find out?"

"She's due next month or earlier." He said.

All eyes shot to Aiden who was cowering in Chris' arms.

"There's no way she's eight months pregnant." Petey scoffed, "We went to the beach and she still dressed the same, there's no way."

"Show them." Alex commanded Aiden.

She stood up slowly and opened her coat to show her stomach that was clearly visible in her tight turtleneck. Mollie suddenly went to Alex and slapped him as hard as she could

"You used me the entire time. I was nothing but a decoy so no one would find out that she was pregnant wasn't I?" she asked.

Alex flexed his stinging jaw, "I kept trying to tell you that I couldn't be with you."

Mollie shoved him backwards, "You are such an asshole and I swear I hate you Alex. I hate you!"

"I did what I had to do to protect Aiden and the baby. I didn't want to hurt you." He told her.

Mollie shook her head and went to James and cried in his chest.

"Wow, Alex another illegitimate child, with another woman, you are really racking up father of the year points aren't you?" Bailey laughed sourly.

"She's not going to be illegitimate." He argued.

"Yeah, like Aiden's really going to be with you after all that you've put her through." Bailey rolled her eyes.

"That's the other thing. We got married when you had the twins. She got pregnant in Paris, when I went to see her the first time, and we got married in Vegas the next week." He told her.

Bailey finally did let her tears fall then. He had gotten married to her. He had never even brought up the subject when they were together.. Before she even realized what she was doing she had tackled Alex to the ground and began hitting him with both hands.

"Please! Please Bailey stop!" Aiden screamed as Chris held her tightly to prevent her from trying to get in the middle of the two of them.

Petey and James grabbed Bailey off of Alex as she continued to thrash around.

"You took my baby to Las Vegas to get married to your knocked up whore?" She screamed at him.

"Riley is **OUR** child and she was perfectly safe with me, and don't you dare call her that. She's my wife and she's stood by me through everything." He shouted back at her.

"You're a poor excuse for a man, you know that? How could you cheat on your pregnant wife? How could you bring me into something like that?" Mollie cried.

"I said I was sorry. If I could take it back I would. I didn't know how sick Aiden was or I would have told everyone sooner. I'm not going to let her spend her last month being stressed out about everything." He said.

Bailey looked up at him completely heartbroken, "We were always supposed to be together. Don't you remember when we would just lay together and talk about our future together, about how we were going to always be with each other?"

Alex stared at her, "We were just kids back then Bay. We never belonged together."

"Yes we did! We still do! We've always had a connection, we've always had feelings for each other, how can you deny them?" She asked.

"That was a long time ago." Alex argued.

"No! What about the night we slept together? It was like we were back to the way things used to be." She retaliated.

Alex shook his head, "That was a mistake. I don't have those feelings for you anymore. I haven't in a long time. Aiden is my future she's who I want to be with for the rest of my life."

Mollie was shocked, "Bailey you were the one who gave me the idea to get back with Alex. Why would you do that when you wanted him to yourself all along?" She asked

Bailey was growing more defensive by the second, "Because I knew he didn't love you. You were a distraction to keep him away from **HER!** She's the only competition I've ever had when it came to Alex."

"So I was just a pawn in your little game too huh?" she questioned angrily.

Bailey rolled her eyes, "No wonder you and Ajay are best friends both of you are fucking drama queens."

Mollie stormed upstairs to pack her belongings. James rushed to hold Ajay back because she had lunged toward Bailey.

"What about Petey and the twins Bay? Don't you love the family you have now?" Alex asked.

"I wanted you and me and Riley to be a family. I got with Petey to make you jealous, then I was going to take you back and then **SHE** came along in all of her perfect, shining, glory. Don't you see? This entire time we haven't been together is **HER** fault. If you loved her as much as you say you do then why would you cheat on her twice? You never cheated on me when we were together." She pointed out.

"I'm not having this conversation with you. I've made my choice to be with Aiden and I've never had any regrets about that."

"So that's it? You're married and she's pregnant and you can just forget what we had?" she asked.

"Alex, you need to take her home." Chris said quietly.

He turned to look back at his frail, shivering wife. She looked completely traumatized by the night's happenings.

He turned back to Bailey, "There's nothing for me in my past. I'm focusing on my wife, and children and I think you should do the same. I'm not playing anymore games or hiding anymore secrets. Aiden and I would like to be left alone for her and the baby's health. Maybe she can have at least one month to relax before the baby gets here."

With that being said he helped Aiden up and closed her jacket up for her and they went to their car. The room was completely silent. The only sounds were form upstairs where Mollie was banging around.

"Umm…I'm going to go check on her." James said ducking out of the tension filled room.

Bailey looked at Ajay, "How could you keep all of that from me? You knew the whole time and didn't tell me, why?"

"They asked me not to, and I knew it was going to come out eventually anyways." She answered looking over at Chris.

He looked furious.

"You could have told me Ajay. I was your friend first way before Little Miss Perfect showed up."

"I guess I didn't want to be such a Drama Queen." Ajay shouted back.

Kenzie woke up hearing a loud bang from upstairs and started crying. Chris got up and put his daughter in her car seat as Ajay and Bailey glared at one another. He stomped past Ajay and headed outside. Ajay followed him, her maternal instincts overpowering the need to get through to Bailey at the moment. Chris was already in the driver's seat with the car cranked.

Bailey watched from the door as Ajay got in and Chris sped off down the road. She closed the door and went back to the living room Petey was sitting on the couch with a blank face, staring at the coffee table.

"We should probably talk huh?" he asked.

Bailey sighed, "Yeah, we should."

She was definitely** NOT** looking forward to this conversation.

* * *

_**What a nice start to their "Valentine's Day Weekend" huh? that talk is going to be brutal!! stay tuned and let me know how you think it's going to go :) xoxo**_


	29. Love Is A Battlefield

_**Right so....emotional chapter just for you!!**_

_**Thanks to Demi, Kennedy, babygirl7201984, and Pennie for reviewing!!  
**_

* * *

Mollie and James came downstairs laden with her suitcases. Mollie stopped at the door like she was going to say something. She was glaring holes through Bailey who was sitting on the love seat tending to her twins.

Mollie snorted to herself, "You're not even worth it."

She left with James following behind her.

Petey was sitting comfortably with his feet on the coffee table watching Bailey. She had both children in their bouncy seats trying to get them to fall back asleep. His gut was twisted, his heart mangled by her words she had so maliciously used earlier. He looked up form his children to their mother. She was the love of his life, the person he had wanted to marry the first second he laid eyes on her.

"What I said earlier, came out wrong. I didn't mean for it to be so hurtful." She said not daring to look up.

He chuckled dryly, "Yes you did. There's not many nice ways to tell someone you've been with for several years and share three children with that they were just a rebound and that you're still in love with your ex."

Bailey winced at the sting in his voice.

"Everything was a lie, our entire relationship has meant nothing to you." He said.

"That's not true. I do love you." Bailey fired back.

"You love me second to Alex. I always kind of guessed that. I saw how your eyes would light up when he would walk in the room. I saw how you would always try to protect and shelter him from any potential girlfriends, how you would come up with any old excuse to touch him or be near him, then you stopped making excuses and just did it and I sat back and let you. I lied to myself so I wouldn't have to face the truth." He reminisced.

Bailey was biting back her tears. She hadn't realized she was so obvious in her pursuit of Alex.

"Where do we go from here Bay?" he questioned.

She shook her head indicating that she didn't know.

"I can't ask you to turn off your feelings for Alex because I know I can't turn off my feelings for you." He said his voice brea**k**ing.

Bailey glanced up at him, seeing tears cascade down his face.

Her lip trembled, "I'm sorry."

He nodded, "So am I."

They sat not saying a word, just crying, letting their emotions go.

"Why did you let us go this far? I mean I could have dealt with this, with losing you, but we have kids together. I'm a grown man and can barely deal with this, how do you thing they're going to fare? Did it even cross your mind how all of this would effect them?" he asked.

She looked back down at her sleeping babies.

"They don't deserve this." She answered.

"None of us did." He said, his voice thick with emotion, "You're going to know how it feels to be in my shoes. Alex is never going to love and cherish you the way I do. You're always going to be second to Aiden. He looks at her the way I look at you. We're both fighting a losing battle."

"I can't help how **I** feel." She sniffed.

He stood up and carefully picked his children up. He took them upstairs and put them in their cribs. He wiped his eyes watching them sleeping peacefully.

How did he get here? How did his life get turned so upside down? He was so sure of everything, especially his relationship with Bailey, after the misunderstanding with Aiden.

He heard Bailey come into the room.

"When you were pregnant with them did you wish A**l**ex was their father rather than me?' He questioned.

"Yes." She said quietly.

Petey covered Jayden and Ajay Marie with their blankets and kissed their foreheads. He turned on their nightlight and turned off the **l**ight.

Petey looked at Bailey through the darkness, "Sorry I turned out to be such a big disappointment for you."

She was as still as a statue as he brushed past her, the light from the hall shimmering in his eyes. Just as she closed the door to the nursery she heard the front door slam and seconds later Petey's car take off through the neighborhood

She went to her empty room and collapsed on the bed letting go of everything. She had made a complete mess of the entire night and she had no clue where to begin to pick up the pieces.

* * *

"Chris, it's snowing and the roads are icy do you mind slowing down some?" Ajay asked as she tried to calm her crying daughter down.

It was as if she hadn't said anything at all because he did nothing but accelerate.

"Chris, our baby is in the car! Slow down!" Ajay yelled finally having enough of his reckless driving.

He pulled into the garage of their house and was out of the car as soon as he parked and cut the ignition. He slammed his door scaring Kenzie even more as her cries intensified.

"What the hell is your problem?" Ajay questioned getting out of the car too.

He didn't answer her as he took the car seat out of the car and went inside. Ajay followed him closely wanting to quiet Kenzie down and get to the bottom of Chris' attitude problem. He put her seat down in the kitchen and furiously punched one of the cabinet doors leaving a deep crack in it.

"Stop right there and tell me what is wrong with you." Ajay demanded, as she stooped to pick Kenzie up.

Chris ignored her and disappeared into the living room followed by a loud crash.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but you're going to have to hold on just a second." Ajay apologized to her screaming daughter. She stormed into the living room seeing a lamp shattered on the floor.

"What the fuck is your problem?" She yelled at him as he paced the room.

**H**e looked crazed, like a mad man that had been set off, his blue eyes on fire, his fists and teeth clenched.

"She trusted us, she depended on us for support." He growled.

Ajay rolled her eyes, "She did this to herself. Aiden knew the risks and the consequences of all of her secrets."

"I'm not talking about that!" he yelled.

"Oh of course not, anytime sweet little Aiden needs anything she's got ten people to wait on her beck and call. I don't have to baby sit her, I'm not her mother!" Ajay shouted back.

Chris flipped the coffee table across the room.

"No you're not but you were supposed to be her friend Ashton!" he bellow**e**d.

Ajay took a step back, she wasn't afraid, she was only getting angrier.

"That's right, I forgot I'm so sorry that I didn't take better care of your other girlfriend." She said sarcastically.

Chris turned and threw several pictures from the wall. Glass flew everywhere.

"Where the hell did you get the idea that I think of her like that huh?" he asked.

"Oh I don't know all the times you held her and protected her and maybe it was when you made out with her in the delivery room, or maybe it was when you called her name during sex!" Ajay yelled.

"You abandoned her because of that? That's your reasoning?" he questioned.

"Yes, that's plenty good enough for me! If I would have done that you would have flipped out!" she answered.

Chris pushed the sofa and the recliner over in his fury, "You do it all the time! You flirt with all the guys on the roster just to get a rise out of me because it turns you on. I don't do anything to endanger our relationship because of it."

"Stop destroying the house! Our relationship is in danger now because of that double crossing whore, really?" she spat out.

Chris grabbed Ajay by the shoulders and shoved her into the wall hard enough to knock the breath out of her. She was pissed before but she was afraid now. He had never been this mad, or had ever spoken to her like that.

"Don't you ever call her that again." Chris warned shaking her as he spoke.

Ajay bit her lip trying to stifle her groan of pain. His vice like grip was killing her, but the look in his eyes was making her terrified. He had never gotten physical with her during even their worst fights.

"A-Are you going to leave me for her?" Ajay cried, her voice quivering at having spoken her deepest fear out loud.

"No Ajay, I'm not. I would never leave you, Joey, or Kenzie for anything, I thought you knew that." He said.

Ajay whimpered, "Why would you stay with me though? Aiden is everything you would ever want. She cooks, cleans, is beautiful, and always dresses nice, how am I supposed to compete with her?"

The only thing that filled the gap of silence between them were Kenzie's cries.

"I love Aiden like a sister, but I'm _IN_ love with you. I've never thought of her as anything but a friend. Why did you hide this from me Ajay? You always tell me everything!" he said.

"I was scared that you were going to leave me." Ajay sobbed.

Chris backed away from her, "Don't you see what you've done to us and Aiden and Alex?"

She shook her head.

"There's always going to be doubt in your mind and in our relationship when there's no need for it. You allowed that to happen, you brought that into our perfectly stable relationship. And what you've done to Aiden…if she doesn't forgive you I don't fucking blame her." He told her.

Ajay knelt down when he let her go.

"She came to us and asked for our friendship and support and we both agreed, and you went back on your word, because of your selfish insecurities. If you would have just come and talked to me, we could have avoided this whole situation. You had to be all independent and vigilante and you had to involve the two people that hate her the most. That's really low of you Ajay. Then to top it all off, to really put the icing on the cake, you knew how incredibly sick she was and you did everything you did despite that fact. You acted with no regard for her or her baby. I really can't believe that the Ajay I know and love would do all of that. I'm having a really hard time comprehending this and being able to look at you the same way." He said.

"I can't lose you Chris, that's what I was afraid of the whole time of losing you. I had to protect my family that's why I did what I did." she cried out.

"That's not even an excuse!" he yelled, "I've got to get out of here. I've got to go check on her."

He went and grabbed his car keys and slammed the door to the garage. Ajay picked Kenzie up who was red in the face from crying for so long. She sat on the floor of the kitchen trying to soothe her daughter as her entire being ached because her boyfriend, the father of her children had chosen Aiden over her yet again.

* * *

Alex helped Aiden upstairs. She hadn't stopped weeping since they had left Bailey's. He kept his fears to himself as he changed her clothes and tucked her in bed. She looked like she was barely keeping it together.

He sat beside her gently moving her hair out of her eyes, "I don't want you to be upset anymore okay? It's you and me and Riley and our baby form now on. I'm going to take the best care of my girls."

"Who's going to take care of you?" she whispered, touching his split lip from Bailey.

"I've had worse baby, it's no big deal." He assured, no more tears, no more stress, get some sleep while I make a few phone calls okay sweetheart?"

He kissed her cheek and then her womb before going downstairs to call TNA management to tell them he wouldn't be back until after his daughter was born. He sat on the couch and turned the television on mute as he explained the situation over the phone. Twenty minutes later he was cleared for his time off to spend with his wife and help her through the rest of her pregnancy. He felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of him now that he had no more secrets and he wouldn't have to leave Aiden for awhile. He drummed on the coffee table in his happiness and turned to fix him and Aiden some dinner but stopped dead in his tracks.

She was standing at the bottom of the stairs as white as a sheet, trembling.

"What's wrong baby? I thought you were tired?" he asked.

"We need to go to the hospital…I'm having contractions." She said her hand holding firmly onto the wall for support.

The weightlessness, and his carefree attitude came crashing down and he was back to ground ze**r**o.

* * *

_**I hope you liked it, it's one of my favorite chapters so far :) Please review!! **_

_***hint....hint*  
**_


	30. Escaping Reality

_**Thanks to the lovelies that reviewed :) more drama to come :)**_

* * *

"Hey thanks for coming over." Mollie said answering Ajay's door.

"I didn't understand a word she said." Petey said taking off his jacket.

"We didn't either but Chris isn't here so I'm assuming that has something to do with it." She said as they went into the dining room.

"What the hell happened in there?" Petey asked pointing to the wrecked living room.

Mollie shrugged, "They got into it pretty badly I guess. She won't stop crying long enough to answer any questions."

Ajay had Kenzie in her swing next to her as she cried into her folded arms. James was standing beside her rubbing her back. He looked relieved when he saw Petey's face.

"I'm not cut out for this. I need a beer." He muttered.

"Grab me one too." Petey said taking a seat by Ajay who continued sobbing.

"Tink, will you sit up and talk to me?" he asked softly.

She sat up just enough to fall into his arms and cry on his shoulder.

"He….me….her…" she sobbed.

Petey pressed her shoulders to sit her up, "Calm down and take deep breaths. I can't understand a word you just said." Ajay took several long breaths until she had calmed herself some.

"I messed up bad Pan, really bad." She said through her tears.

"What happened? How did the living room get so messed up?" he asked holding her hands.

"We got home and he was so mad….I've never seen him so mad, as soon as he walked in he started throwing and destroying things."

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Petey asked surveying her for any signs of physical abuse.

"He only….he only pushed me into the wall when I called Aiden a whore…" she stammered.

Petey gritted his teeth even that made him mad, Chris knew better than to ever put his hands on her.

"What else?" Mollie asked.

"He said that I h-h-hurt everybody because I was insecure." She hiccupped.

"Everybody who?" Petey encouraged downing half his beer.

"Chris, my relationship with him, Alex, Aiden, and, and, her b-b-b-baby. I didn't mean to hurt her baby." She sobbed.

Everyone exchanged a glance at what Chris had told her. He had really laid it on thick.

"Where did he go?" Mollie asked.

Ajay wiped her eyes, "To go and check on Aiden because she looked so bad when they left."

"You know he loves you and Kenzie and Joey, you really don't have anything to worry about because Aiden loves Alex, you know?" Petey smiled.

"He wouldn't leave you; he loves you far too much to do that. He probably just felt obligated to go check on her and didn't want to face being confronted with the things he had done." Mollie suggested.

Petey nodded, "Chris isn't one for drama or fights or anything like that so that was probably his first gut reaction was to just flee the situation and clear his head and then come back and deal with everything."

"But why did he go running straight to her again?" Ajay sniffled.

"She did look pretty bad." James supplied.

"I'm sure as soon as he checks on her; he'll be home to work things out." Mollie smiled, putting a hand on Ajay's shoulder.

"I hope you're right." Ajay said sadly.

* * *

Alex jumped in his sleep causing him to wake from his light nap. Aiden was still asleep in his arms at the hospital. She had been in agonizing pain for the past four hours. Everything had slowed down to a crawl when they had gotten to the hospital. Her body was not responding to the cocktail they had given her to further induce her labor and she was currently in a standstill in her labor.

She had begged him with tears in her eyes to hold her so she could fall asleep. He couldn't say no to her when she looked so utterly miserable. He crawled through the various tubes that were feeding into there body and held her until she finally dozed off.

He looked down at her angelic face that contorted into a wince as she endured another contraction. She cried out in her sleep softly and moved slightly in his arms.

He hated feeling helpless; absolutely fucking could not stand it.

"It hurts so bad." She whispered into his chest.

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead. She didn't have a high pain tolerance; he couldn't imagine how she was staying as quiet as she was. The nurse showed him how to feel her contractions and how to time them. They were coming longer and faster and he could see her weakening before his eyes. She just wasn't strong enough to go through all of this.

"Baby, don't cry, I'll go and see if they can give you something." He said getting out of the bed and covering her up.

She curled into a ball on her side moaning softly. Alex was about to go to the door when a nurse came in.

"How are we doing?" Amber the nurse asked.

"She's in a lot of pain still. Can she have her epidural yet?" he asked sitting beside the bed.

"Let me take a look." Amber said smiling at Alex, "Honey roll onto your back for me okay?"

Alex clenched his jaw as he helped Aiden roll over. She covered her face with her hand and started crying again. Alex kissed her hand and stood to comfort her as she was getting checked out.

"We made some progress but not enough for an epidural yet. I'm going to up your Pitocin some to get you dilated some more." Amber said adjusting Aiden's drip.

"I'll be right back." He told Aiden who had curled back onto her side.

He stepped outside with Amber and looked at her very seriously, "How is she, and please don't bullshit me."

"We're worried about both of their blood pressure. They're both rising, hers more so than the baby's. Everyone is aware that she's had a high risk pregnancy and about her stress levels. We want to keep her as calm as possible." Amber explained.

"I understand, but she can't stay calm and deal with all the pain she's in. Something's got to give, right?" Alex asked frustrated because he couldn't do anything.

"You're wife and daughter are both our top priority and we're doing the best we can." She promised.

He nodded, "I'm sorry I just can't stand to see her like this."

"We're taking care of them, don't worry." She smiled.

"I know she would like to have the baby uhh…naturally, is that even a possibility?" he wondered.

Amber frowned, "We'll see how everything plays out. Cesarean is always our last option due to its invasiveness."

He nodded, "Thank you."

She nodded and went down the hall.

Alex went back into the room and sat in the chair beside the bed.

"What did she say?" Aiden asked.

"Just that they're going to take very good care of you and the baby." He said softly.

She closed her eyes and drifted back to a restless sleep.

* * *

Two hours passed and it was finally time for her epidural. She had been crying non-stop for the last hour due to her intense contractions. She was begging for mercy by the time the doctor came with the medicine.

Alex helped her sit up and pulled her into his arms to balance her as she leaned forward to curve her spine. He was looking over her shoulder as the doctor prepped her for the injection.

"That…..that's the needle?" he questioned looking at the incredibly long syringe.

"Sure is." The doctor replied continuing to prep, "Okay, stay very still for me so I can get you to feeling better."

Alex's heart started racing as the doctor picked up the medieval looking device. Aiden hissed and clutched Alex tightly as the needle was inserted. Alex squeezed Aiden to comfort himself. He knew this was going to make her feel better, but the process was making him weak in the knees.

Finally he was done and Aiden lay back down on her side quivering from the pain.

"You should start feeling better now." The doctor smiled as he left the room.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked kissing her forehead that felt like it was on fire.

She shook her head.

"What can I do baby? How can I help you?" he pleaded.

He would do anything she asked, anything. She didn't answer; she could only squeeze his hand.

After only a few minutes of rest her OB came in and told them it was time for her to push.

"Give me a good push to ten okay and then you can rest." Dr. Thomas instructed, "Ready, go."

Alex felt his own muscles tighten as he watched in disbelief as Aiden called on an unknown source of strength to push. Her eyes were closed her face red as she focused her energy. She fell back onto the bed gasping for breath and whimpering due to her exhaustion.

"Again, Aiden, that was good, keep it up." Dr. Thomas encouraged.

She pushed again, her tiny body shaking with her efforts.

"Fetal heart rate is dropping." Amber said suddenly.

Alex whipped his head to her, then Aiden, then to Dr. Thomas.

"She's not down far enough to unwrap the cord." He said to the nurse, "She's going into distress we need to prep her for an emergency c-section."

Aiden sat up frantically; it was her one fear throughout her entire pregnancy. The one thing she didn't want to have happen.

"Wait, can't I push one more time? Can I try to get her down further?" Aiden cried.

Amber shook her head and kept an eye on the monitors as a team of nurses entered the room to get Alex and Aiden prepped.

"She's not going to be down far enough with one push and it could cause more trauma. This is our only option but you tried really hard." Amber said.

Aiden's anxiety was through the roof. She had never been able to handle any kind of pain, she had never endured any surgery, she had never had any broken bones or even any cavities for goodness sake. The idea of being cut open made her sick and weak. She knew she would feel no pain but the pressure alone would do her in.

She looked over at Alex who was in a daze. HE looked like he felt the same way she did.

They began wheeling her to surgery and that's when she lost it. She couldn't escape or talk her way out of this, she had no other options. She started crying hysterically, more scared than she'd ever been in her life.

Amber patted her arm, "She's almost here, just try to stay calm."

Her gentle voice did nothing to soothe Aiden. They entered the operating room and her heart began to race, thudding painfully in her chest as she was wheeled under her bright lights.

A sob escaped her throat as the divider was raised to hide her midsection. Alex appeared at her side still in a dazed state of mind. He sat beside her and weakly held her hand. Aiden closed her eyes to stave off the sickness that she felt when she began to feel the pressure. She whimpered, her mind flashing horrible pictures of what she must look like in her head.

Spots danced before her eyes increasing the sickness she felt. She could feel the lovely comforting darkness reaching for her and she didn't fight it. She embraced it wholly and detached herself from reality.

She was floating now into the black nothingness thankful that she didn't have to feel anything anymore.

* * *

_**Their baby is almost here.....stay tuned :) let me know what you think is going to happen!!**_


	31. Comatose

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, World's Biggest Jericoholic and babygirl7201984 for reviewing :) Enjoy!!**_

* * *

Chris had been driving around for hours searching for Alex and Aiden. He went to their house only to find that they weren't home. He called both of their phones several times, but neither answered. He hoped they weren't mad at him too. He had no idea what Ajay had been doing. He had no clue where the two of them could have gone. He drove around in all of the hotel parking lots searching for either of their cars but with no luck. He knew he wasn't going to go home to deal with Ajay yet until he talked to Alex and Aiden. His stomach dropped when he realized that they may have had to go t the hospital because of all the stress Aiden had been put through. He turned around and headed back to the hospital, praying that he didn't find them there.

"Oh shit." He groaned as he pulled into the space next to Alex's car. He unbuckled and jogged up to the waiting room.

"Can I help you sir?" the lady at the front desk asked.

"I'm looking for my friend…" he said trying to stay calm.

"What is their last name?" She asked.

"Martin, Aiden Martin, she…she's pregnant." He answered.

"**W**hich is why she's on the seventh floor, labor and delivery room seven nineteen." She smiled.

He went to the elevator and stepped inside feeling completely nauseated. He could feel that something was wrong when he went to the door. He knocked quietly and let himself in. The sun had just started peeking over the horizon and was spilling into the room that was softly **ill**uminated. Aiden was in the bed sleeping and hooked to several machines. He looked to the left of the bed and saw Alex glaring at him, a soft pink blanket cradled in his arms. Chris broke into a smile and took several steps toward Alex who stood up into a defensive position.

"Don't." he warned.

Chris stopped, "What's wrong?"

"Just stay there, don't come any closer." Alex said.

Chris was really confused, "Dude its just me, I'm on your side, you know that right?"

He shook his head tears falling down his face, "I don't care whose side you're on, I want you to stay where you are."

"Alex what's wrong?" he asked seeing how distraught he was.

Alex tucked the blanket tighter around the baby and pulled her into his chest. He broke down and started crying. Chris had never before seen Alex so emotional.

"Is it the baby?" he forced himself to ask.

"It's Aiden." He cried his voice catching and making him cough.

Chris felt his heart drop down to his stomach as his eyes went back to her. There couldn't be anything wrong with her, she still looked the same,** she** was breathing, he could see her chest rising and falling. Chris took another step towards the bed and reached out to hold her hand.

"Don't touch her!" Alex ordered making Chris retract his hand.

"What happened?" he asked unable to take his eyes off of Aiden.

**

* * *

*FLASHBACK*

* * *

**

_"Fetal heart rate is dropping." Amber said from the other side of Aiden._

_His head whipped up to her, then Aiden, then Dr. Thomas._

_"She's going into distress we need to prep her for an emergency c-section."_

_Alex had stopped breathing at that very moment, his dream coming back to haunt him vividly. He couldn't move but felt himself being pushed by nurses and being outfitted with scrubs. He forced his feet to move and follow Aiden down to surgery. _

_He hesitated before he stepped into the room. Everything was exactly the same as it was in his dream. The harsh lights were blinding, the sterile environment was suffocating. He sat beside Aiden not sure how exactly he'd gotten there. He looked down at her crying and shaking. She was so scared, and he couldn't do anything to help her. _

_He kissed her softly trying to focus on anything other than the awful squishing, wet sounds that were coming from the other side of the divider. He felt sick and helpless, no…useless was a better word. Alex heard a soft pop and then felt a hand on his shoulder._

_"Would you like to cut the cord?" Dr. Thomas called._

_Alex stood dumbly and nodded._

_Why wasn't the baby crying? A nurse held the baby who was b**l**ue and red while another suctioned her nose and mouth._

_"Right here Alex." Dr. Thomas instructed pointing between the two clamps._

_He took the instrument and cut through the thick sinew of the cord feeling even more sick at the moment. Everything was wrong. Aiden had stopped cry**i**ng, the baby was still making no noise, it was too quiet. _

_He had the instrument taken from him and he glanced on the other side of the divider, instantly wishing he hadn't. It was so much blood and gore, it was shocking to him, no wonder she had been crying the whole time._

_"BP is spiking!!" Amber announced._

_Everybody's heads shot up to look at the monitors. They may as well have been in hieroglyphics according to Alex._

_"Get her stabilized, we'**ve** got to finish this up first." Dr. Thomas ordered._

_Alex looked back at Aiden; she was still so beautiful and finally peaceful. He went to touch her cheek but was startled by the sudden harsh beeping sounds going off._

_"Get him out of her." Dr. Thomas **or**dered as two nurses came and escorted Alex out of the room._

_He was panicky; this was exactly how he lost her in his dream. Was it possible for it to come true? _

_He could already feel the sinking depression closing his throat. He started crying when he tried the door but found it to be locked. He put his hands on the glass window his eyes darting from this baby that he couldn't see but he knew was in the corner and his wife who had yet to open her eyes again. _

_He could very faintly hear the muffled voices and all of the chaotic sounds from the machines. He watched as they worked frantically on both of them and really started to panic when they put an oxygen mask onto Aiden's face. _

_He beat his hands on the glass. He wanted in, he wanted to hold them both and protect them. A nurse walked over to the window and pulled the screen down so he couldn't see in the room anymore. He slid down the wall crying into his arms. _

_What could he do? What was wrong? He only had questions, no answers. _

_Finally after what seemed like hours a nurse came out of the room._

_He scrambled to his feet, "What happened? Are they okay?"_

_"Your daughter is fine, she was having trouble breathing because of the cord but she's responding well to treatment. We put her in the nursery already, would you like to go see her?" She asked._

_Alex nodded, "What about Aiden?"_

_"She's not doing well. Her blood pressure got extremely high and they are still working to stabilize her." She responded._

_He bent at the waist slightly her words taking the breath out of him, "What does that mean?" he asked._

_"We're unsure at the moment about the extent of damage that may have been caused. Dr. Thomas will have to speak to you when he gets done." She answered, walking with him to the nursery._

**

* * *

*END FLASHBACK*

* * *

**

Chris had tears in his own eyes as he listened to Alex recollect his daughter's delivery.

"What did the doctor say?" Chris asked not wanting to know the answer at all.

"She slipped into a coma during the cesarean. Everybody was worried about the baby and didn't even notice until it was too late." Alex said still crying, his eyes focuse**d** on Aiden.

"A coma?" Chris choked out.

"She could wake up in an hour, a month, ten years, or she may never wake up." He said biting back a sob.

Chris shook his head, "I don't believe that. There's got to be something else they can do."

"There's nothing. She has to find her way back. I keep talking to her, thinking that maybe she can hear my voice but they said that she probably can't hear me, and that she doesn't really feel anything. She's just sleeping…" he cried wiping his eyes with one hand.

"I'm so sorry Alex. I didn't know…" Chris apologized.

"I know you didn't this isn't your fault." Alex said.

Chris wet his lips trying to think of someway to help her.

"What did you name her?" he asked when his mind drew a blank.

Alex was silent, "**I** don't want to say."

"Why not?" he questioned.

Alex just shook his head.

"Can I see her then?" he wondered taking a step to him.

Alex shrunk further back into the corner and raised his arm further up to better conceal the baby, "No."

Chris' brow furrowed, "Alex, what's wrong? Why won't you tell me her name or let me see her?"

Alex broke down again, sobbing as he looked down at his daughter who was hidden from Chris.

"Aiden hasn't seen her yet." He managed to whisper.

Comprehension dawned on him, "You want Aiden to see her first?"

Alex raised his tearful gaze to Chris and nodded.

Chris swallowed back his emotions; he never thought he would ever see Alex as vulnerable as he was in this moment.

He looked like a wounded animal that was backed into a corner. He looked like he could lash out or break down at any moment.

"She hasn't even cried yet. Not once." Alex said looking back down into the blanket.

"She must know to take it easy on you since it's your first time and all." Chris smiled.

"I think she takes after her mommy and doesn't want to be the center of attention." Alex breathed.

Chris hesitantly reached out to Aiden. He kept his eyes on Alex who was watching him carefully. He covered Aiden's hand with his and gently leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"I'm sorry Aiden." He whispered.

He waited for her to open her eyes or squeeze his hand. He waited for her to smile her sweet smile or laugh her innocent laugh. Chris chewed on his lip realizing that she wasn't going to respond. He looked over at Alex seeing the hope die in his eyes.

"Do you mind leaving us alone for a little while?" he asked softly.

"No, I'll be in the waiting room." He answered.

He looked back down at Aiden, counting her shallow breaths in his head. He leaned back down and kissed her cheek before getting up to leave. He closed the door, his feet were like cinder blocks and his heart felt like it wasn't working properly at all.

He pulled out his phone.

"Chris?!" Ajay answered on the first ring.

"Hey, it's me." He said.

"Where are you I've been so worried about you." She admonished.

"I was looking for Alex and Aiden." He told h**e**r.

"Did you find them?" She questioned.

"Yeah, can you come to the hospital?" he asked, his voice sounding tired.

Ajay gasped, "Did she have the baby**?**"

Chris sighed deeply, "Yeah, she had the baby."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Ajay rushed hanging up the phone.

He was still mad at her but he was very nervous about how she would react to the possibility of Aiden never waking up. He sat down in the waiting room trying to imagine what Alex must be going through. He couldn't bear the though of living without Ajay. He wouldn't survive and neither would their children. Their lives would forever be altered without her presence.

He closed his eyes and prayed that Alex and his daughter would never have to experience that. Aiden was going to wake up…she had to.

* * *

_**sad....I know....but it makes my little drama llama so happy :) please review, I'm going to need your opinion in a chapter or two :)**_

_***hint, hint***_

_**Did you get the one from chapter 29? Message me if you did for Extra cool points next chapter :)  
**_


	32. Guilt

_**Kudos to: Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, World's Biggest Jericoholic, BourneBetter67, and SnowAngel2009 for figuring out the clues :)**_

* * *

Ajay, Petey, Mollie, and James all got off the elevator and went to the labor and delivery floor. Ajay saw Chris down the hall past the waiting room.

"We'll be right here." Petey said as they all took a seat in the waiting room.

She very hesitantly walked up to Chris who was staring into the nursery.

She peered into the room, "Which one is theirs?"

"She's in the room, Alex doesn't let them put her in here." He answered quietly.

"Does she look like Aiden? She wanted her to have her eyes." She smiled.

"I don't know." He said.

She stopped smiling realizing he must still be angry with her. He reached out and put a hand on Kenzie's back.

Ajay's lip trembled, "She missed you last night."

Chris kept his eyes on his sleeping daughter. He finally looked at Ajay who was on the verge of crying.

"I'm sorry Chris. I'll admit I was selfish but I was scared…" she tried.

"It doesn't matter now." He said his voice scratchy with emotion.

Ajay bit her lip trying to decipher the meaning of his statement. It didn't matter now because he hated her? Because he couldn't forgive her? Because he was leaving her?

"I don't want to fight with you anymore Ajay. I 'm very hurt and disappointed by your actions but I don't want to be away from you or my family because of it." He told her.

Ajay let out a deep breath completely relieved by his words.

"I'm sorry about what I did to you. I didn't realize that it would bother you, it wasn't my intention to make you scared about our relationship." He said.

She fell into his arms as he hugged both her and Kenzie.

"I love you so much Chris. I really am sorry, and I'm going to apologize to Cookie too." Ajay promised.

Chris froze, he was dreading having to tell her about Aiden's condition.

"What room number is she in?" Ajay asked.

"She's down past the elevator last room on the left, but listen to me babe, I need to tell you something." He replied taking Kenzie from her, "It's about Aiden."

Ajay's face fell, "She doesn't want to see me does she? I know if she'll just let me explain that she'll forgive me. Cookie doesn't stay mad, she knows that I didn't mean to hurt her." she turned on her heel to go to Aiden's room but Chris caught her by the arm.

Petey and James stood up when they saw Chris stop Ajay in her tracks.

His hand came up to cup her cheek as he gently kissed her lips, "There were some complications during her labor and delivery."

Ajay's face fell, "Did she have a C-section?"

Chris nodded.

"She was so scared of that happening; she wanted to avoid that if she could. Is she in a lot of pain?" she asked wincing.

Chris took a deep breath, "Honey, she slipped into a coma during the baby's birth and she may not wake up."

Ajay pulled away from him her face stricken with terror and disbelief.

"Who told you that?" she asked.

"That's what the doctor's told Alex. There's nothing they can do about it." He said.

She was slowly backing away from him, "I don't believe you. She's going to wake up; she has to take care of the baby and Alex…"

"Maybe she will but it just doesn't look good right now sweetheart." Chris said following her.

She shook her head as tears fell down her face. She turned and ran down the hall to Aiden's room. Chris chased after her handing Kenzie off to Mollie as he did. Everybody followed them to the room.

Ajay burst through the door, tears clouding her eyes.

"Cookie?" Ajay called, waiting for her to answer, "Cookie?"

Alex stood up from the corner beside Aiden's bed, "Get out now!"

Ajay looked at him, "It's not true is it? She's just sleeping right?"

Alex was heaving in gulps of air, he was beyond furious that she had burst into the room.

He was still holding his daughter as he glared at the whole group, "I want you all to leave now!"

"Alex please, it's not true is it?" Ajay cried.

"Yes, it's true, the mother of my child is in a coma and it's all your fault!" he spat.

Ajay shrank away from Alex hearing the malice in his words.

"You were supposed to take care of her. You were supposed to be her friend. She loved you Ajay. She looked up to and thought of you as a big sister." He growled.

Ajay slowly backed away, "Alex I'm sorry."

He laughed darkly, "Sorry? You don't even know the meaning of the word. She depended on you! You and Chris were the only ones who knew how sick she was and you turned your back on her when she needed you the most."

Ajay hugged herself tightly, shaking her head, "I-I I'm s-s-s-sorry."

"Alex calm down some okay?" Petey asked.

"Calm down?" he asked, in disbelief, "My daughter isn't going to have her mother for who knows how long."

He stopped tears falling from his eyes, "I'm not going to have my wife. Aiden didn't even get to see the baby she did everything in her power to protect from all of you."

Ajay sobbed, it was all her fault, he was right. Everything he said was true.

"I want you to take a real good look at what you've done. I don't feel sorry for you at all Ajay. You acted with no mercy for my wife and child so don't expect me to show you any either." Alex threatened in a low voice, his eyes shimmering with tears.

Ajay choked back a sob and went running out of the room.

"I want all of you out of here and don't come back. Just leave us alone." He said retreating back to his chair in the corner, his sleeping daughter still hidden form view.

They all filed out of the room as Alex reached for the bottle he was about to feed the baby.

* * *

"Give her a minute to kind of get it all out before you go look for her." Petey suggested quietly to Chris.

He nodded taking a seat.

Mollie picked up Kenzie's diaper bag, "James and I are going to go change her and heat up a bottle, is that cool?"

He nodded, "Thanks."

He sighed after they left, "How did everything get so messed up?"

Petey chuckled, "I asked myself the same question believe it or not."

Chris turned to glance at him, "I almost forgot about Bailey. How did it go after we left?"

He shrugged, "Basically that she's still in love with Alex and I was her rebound."

"Damn." Chris groaned.

"Yeah, you should be me." He said managing a fake grin.

"So what are you going to do?" Chris asked.

"I don't know maybe you should go check on Tink now." Petey said dodging his question.

Chris didn't press the issue knowing how Petey was about airing dirty laundry. He stood up and went to go find Ajay.

It took several minutes and phone calls before he finally located her huddled on the tenth floor stairwell still crying her eyes out. He sat beside her and pulled her into his arms. She cried harder than she ever had in her entire life. Chris rubbed her back and gently rocked her as she poured her heart out.

"What kind of despicable human being am I Chris?" she finally asked pulling away from him.

Her face was red and splotchy and soaked form her tears.

"You're not." He told her.

"Yes I am! I left that poor girl…my poor Cookie knowing what it would do to her, knowing that it would hurt her, and send her over the edge. I did that on purpose. I didn't care at all as long as I got to keep you. How can I look myself in the mirror? What kind of a role model am I to my babies?" she stopped breaking into more soul searing sobs, "I'm such a horrible person. Aiden's little baby may grow up without her, and it's all my fault."

"Babe, you can't blame yourself, she was sick, it was a pre-existing condition, something you had no control of." He said.

"Don't down play what I did! I made everything worse by disowning her. Chris…she was so pitiful, she begged me not to leave her, she begged me to forgive her and I wouldn't." she cried almost incoherently.

He held her not knowing what to say. He had already told her how disappointed that had made him, anything he said now would only make it worse.

"I let her go Chris, she went back home without me, how could I play with the kids and love my life while she was suffering?" she asked.

"Ajay this isn't going to help her now." He murmured into her hair.

"Did you know that I threatened her that if she told you about our fight that I would tell Bailey and Mollie her secrets? I just added to the problem." She sighed trying to catch her breath.

"She wouldn't want you to beat yourself up." He told her.

Ajay nodded, "She wouldn't, she always cares for everybody else, and she always puts herself last. I was supposed to take care of her…"

Chris sighed, "She wouldn't hate you. I know she would forgive you. We just have to pray that she gets better and wakes up, that's all we can do now."

Ajay nodded slowly.

"Let's go sit in the waiting room and be with our little girl and be thankful for what we have." He suggested.

They went back to the waiting room. Mollie and James were playing with Kenzie and Petey was browsing through a magazine. Ajay sat beside Mollie who handed Kenzie to her.

"I can't believe all of this has happened. We never got along but I never wanted anything like this to happen to the poor girl. And Alex…my God, how is he able to handle all of this? He's never been a father to a newborn, he's never had to take sole responsibility for a child, and he's never had to deal with the loss of someone close to him before either." Mollie said sadly.

"She's not dead." Ajay snapped.

"I know, but she's not there either Ajay. I don't mean to sound insensitive, I just can't imagine how he's managing it all." She said, "You knew she was sick and pregnant the whole time?"

Ajay nodded sadly, "Chris and I were the only ones who knew."

Mollie looked down at her hands, "If I had known, I wouldn't have been so awful to her. I wouldn't have gone after Alex if I had known he was married to her. It's still so weird to think that he's married, like for real this time."

"We were shocked when they told us. I thought it was another drunken mistake of his, but he was so happy and so proud to be with her, to be her husband." Ajay sighed.

Mollie's throat tightened. She was still dealing with the reality that Alex was officially off the market, but being with James helped her. She enjoyed his company and helped eased the pain.

"I wish I could talk to Alex and tell him that I'm sorry." Mollie complained watching Kenzie.

"Me too." Ajay choked out, "It breaks my heart sitting here holding Kenzie and looking at her knowing that Aiden didn't get that chance. If….If I don't get to apologize to her….I don't know how I'll be able to live with the guilt."

"Maybe we will get the chance later. He's just going to need a little while to calm down and clear his head. You know Alex, he likes to have options and we literally backed him into the corner." Mollie said trying to make her feel better.

"I've got to stay positive or I'll go crazy I know that much." Ajay said managing a smile.

Mollie thought back and looked at Ajay, "How far along was she when we were at the Bahamas?"

"Four almost five months." Ajay said.

Mollie shook her head, "No wonder you got so mad that I pushed her. Ugghh…I feel like such a bad person knowing what I know now."

Ajay held Mollie's hand, "Aiden has to be okay. We'll apologize and make everything right…it has to be."

Mollie smiled weakly at Ajay.

* * *

Chris knocked on Aiden's door.

"Go away." Alex called.

Chris opened the door a tiny bit, "It's just me. I wanted to see how she's doing, can I come in?"

Alex was looking into the pink blanket holding a bottle, "I guess so."

Chris came in and closed the door behind him.

"How's the baby?" he asked.

Alex looked up with a slight glare, "She's fine."

"What about Aiden?" he moved on seeing how agitated he got over his daughter.

Alex didn't respond he just continued feeding his baby.

"Lex?" Chris pushed.

"Her blood pressure keeps rising." He looked up at the monitor, "It's already above average. Nothing they are doing is working. She keeps getting worse. It's….it's not looking good."

Chris felt his stomach drop at the news; he had thought that surely she would have gotten better by now, her blood pressure anyways.

"She's got to get better. She's got to wake up." Chris murmured.

Alex closed his eyes, "That's what I keep telling her too.'

"I'll go; I just wanted to check on her. Did you need me to get you anything?" he asked.

"No." Alex said softly continuing to stare down at his baby.

Chris kissed Aiden's forehead before he left the room

When he got back to the waiting room he was bombarded by Ajay.

"How was she? How were Alex and the baby?"

Chris pulled her into a hug while everybody else read his facial expression.

"She's not doing good." He whispered.

* * *

_**Oh the evil llama.....review please or he will spit on you :) xoxo**_


	33. Ain't No Sunshine

**FOUR DAYS PASSED**

Ajay and Chris alternated being there at the hospital and at home until Ajay couldn't take it anymore and took both of her children up to her Gran's house, so she could be at the hospital full time.

Aiden was deteriorating rapidly, according to Chris, who was still the only person allowed in the room. Mollie, James, and Petey all stayed to help support Ajay, who was taking everything the hardest. It was like watching paint dry waiting for Aiden to wake up, but Ajay was obligated to do it. She would not miss the first opportunity to make things right and tell Aiden how sorry she was.

Alex felt as bad as he looked. He barely slept, his five o'clock shadow had grown into full on stubble, and his whole body seemed to be dragging down. The only thing that made him even remotely cheerful was his daughter. She had been the best little baby, she still had yet to cry since she was born. She was just the light in the darkness for him. He felt he was doing surprisingly well, considering this was his first time dealing with a newborn and without the guidance of his wife.

He sat in the corner or on the edge of her bed and punished himself, thinking of all the regrets he had. He regretted not taking time off to be at home with her, he regretted not paying more attention to the details and seeing how much pain and sadness she was enduring, he regretted not reading all of the baby books she had bought to prepare him. His main regret, though, was cheating on her. How could he ever make her feel that he didn't love her as much as he did? Why did he ever make her feel second best to anyone?

He would just sit and stare at her, wishing they could somehow trade places. She was so bright and vibrant and caring and loving, she didn't deserve to be in a coma; he should be. How was it fair that his innocent, beautiful wife suffer when he was the one who had done wrong? Was this his punishment? Was this his karma for being so deviant in his life? Was this the universe's way of catching up to him?

He had cried into the side of her bed for over an hour. What was he going to do if she never woke up? How was he going to bear revealing his daughter to everyone when her own mother didn't get to see her?

When he was finally able to see again, he wiped his eyes, tears still flowing down his face some. He took her hairbrush out of her bag and began gently brushing her hair. He would do this for the rest of his life if he had to. He would take care of her and stay with her for as long as he had to. His vision blurred again as he continued to brush her long hair.

He was so angry, he wanted to kick and scream and demand that God bring her back to him. He had enough angels; couldn't He spare Aiden for his and his baby's sake?

"Baby, please wake up." He cried, feeling more alone than he ever had in his life, "All you have to do is open your eyes. Just come back to me please."

He collapsed back into his chair, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had cried so much he had given himself a migraine. He leaned toward the window and rested his head in his hand. He was reminiscing about their reunion in Paris where they had conceived their baby. They had been so happy then, they had been so in love. He thought about those times to keep himself sane.

He was jarred from his thoughts by his daughter's whimper. He sat forward and peered into the bassinet. She was kicking her tiny legs and flailing her little arms. He looked at his watch; she wasn't due for another bottle for another half hour. He checked her diaper, she was clean.

"What is it baby girl?" he asked, sniffling softly as he put his finger into her miniature hand.

She let loose her first cry, it pierced the too quiet room. Her cries intensified even when he picked her up.

"What's the matter with you? You saw daddy crying and wanted to try it out too?" he cooed.

Suddenly he focused and was aware of his surroundings. His daughter's cries were masking the sound of the machine that was monitoring Aiden's heartbeat. It had sped up to a frightening pace. He looked down at Aiden and instantly tears filled his eyes again. She was gasping for air, her body convulsing. A team of doctors and nurses raced in.

"Aiden?" he called, his voice barely above a whisper.

His throat was almost completely closed. What was happening before him had shocked him to the core.

He had to physically look down at his screaming child to be sure she was still in his arms. A nurse came over and plucked the baby from his arms and pushed the bassinet out of the room.

He blinked, letting the tears flow so he could see what was happening.

"A-Aiden?" he called louder this time.

"We're losing her!" he heard a voice call.

At that very second the monitor hummed the same monotonous note, signaling that she had stopped breathing, her heart had stopped beating. His tongue felt too large for his mouth as he watched his whole world slip away every second she didn't take a breath. She had stopped struggling and was completely still.

"Please God no, please take me!" he begged reverently.

He felt himself being pulled away from her and out the door. The last image he had of her was so peaceful, like she was content with leaving him and their baby.

He was at a loss, a complete loss for words or actions. He staggered down the hall, his hand covering his chest that felt like he had a car parked on it. He too had begun to struggle to breathe. Everything he had was being taken away from him. He was beginning to believe that he had somehow ended up in purgatory with no recollection of why or how he'd gotten there.

"Alex? Is she awake?" he heard Chris ask.

He had stumbled into the waiting room. He really felt like his whole chest would cave in at any moment, but he would have welcomed that by that point. He wet his lips, still gasping for air. It wheezed through his lungs, not giving him any satisfaction. His eyes closed, his face contorting into a mask of pain.

He dropped to his knees and then fell forward to catch himself with his hands, "She's gone."

He heard Ajay scream and the rest of them inhale collectively. One hand came up to clutch at his chest, the burning was unbearable. He felt someone lift him up and wrap their arms around him. He let go and let out a howl of misery.

"She's not gone. She's not, she can't be!!" Ajay screamed into his chest, "She doesn't know that I'm sorry. She has a baby, she has you…"

Alex bared his teeth as he was internally engulfed in flames. They were consuming him every second his beautiful wife was gone.

He didn't move for a long time. He sat there and cried with his friends. Ajay shared in his grief, she was just as close to Aiden as he was.

It was like all the happiness had left the Earth. The sun had burnt out for him now. There was nothing but shadows and darkness for him.

Chris pulled Ajay away from Alex and into his arms. Tears fell down his face and into her hair. He was suffering too. James and Petey lifted him into a chair. He slumped forward and put his elbows onto his knees, his head in his hands.

"What am I going to do?" he asked, finding it incredibly difficult to breathe still.

Nobody answered.

Mollie was rubbing his back in an effort to comfort him. They sat in silence; the only sounds between them were the sounds of them crying over the loss of their friend.

"I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't get to apologize to her." Ajay sobbed, beginning anew with her tears.

Alex hugged himself tighter for fear that he would spontaneously combust. He was going to have to face his worst fear, he was going to have to raise his daughter by himself, he was going to have to live without his soul mate, the love of his life. He was going to have to sleep alone in their bed and walk past her clothes and see the book she hadn't finished.

He was going to have to place his motherless child into the nursery that Aiden had decorated herself. He had to survive this for their baby. She was all he had left to live for. She was his only living link to Aiden. He closed his eyes, praying that a comet would crash down on him and put him out of his misery. He wanted nothing more than to be with his wife and ask her to forgive him for failing her.


	34. You Are My Sunshine

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight and World's Biggest Jericoholic for reviewing, this chapter (my favorite one so far) is for you! Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.**_

_***SPECIAL HUGE THANKS GOES TO THE BEST BETA EVVVVER TJ SPARKLES! You got it going on girlie! Thanks for all you do!*  
**_

* * *

She felt hot. She felt like she had been lying out on the beach in July for hours. The soft breeze she felt blowing did nothing but stir the sticky humidity that was covering her like a blanket. She blinked her eyes open, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the brightness that was directly in her face. She sat up slowly; dizzy from the heat that was baking her.  
She was in a field of the greenest grass and prettiest wild flowers she'd ever seen. They swayed and rippled in the wind. She reached out to touch an orange bud as it danced and bounced beside her. As her fingertips brushed the soft petals, they withered and turned brown.

She pulled her hand back, afraid to ruin any more of the blooms. Her hand went to her stomach and she gasped in surprise. She had expected it to still be large and full from her pregnancy. It terrified her that she was her normal size. She tried to remain calm, but the bright red blood stain on her white cotton dress made her heart race.  
She labored over every breath; trying to inhale and exhale in the heavy atmosphere was proving to be quite difficult.

Where was her baby? More importantly where was **SHE** at? While the field was picturesque, it was not familiar at all. She suppressed her fear for her child and stood on shaky legs.  
The hem of her dress fell to the soft glass as she picked a direction and began walking. There was nothing but rolling fields for as far as the eye could see. How did she get here? Where was "here"?

She walked, and walked, and walked, and walked for what seemed like an eternity. The hot...sun if that's what it was, was beating down on her, making her lethargic and desperate to settle back down onto the crisp, cool grass. She pushed on and crested a rather large hill and squinted in the distance at a lone building in the distance.

She could faintly see a few people milling around. Maybe they could help her. A gust of wind rushed toward her face and sent her long dress and hair fluttering in the icy chill. Then a loud tone went off, a siren of sorts rang out eerily from the building. Goosebumps rose on her flesh from the haunting wail that floated through the blue sky. She looked down and saw a shadow cover her and turned to see what was causing it.

The once beautiful scenery was now being devoured by a massive black cloud. It fed on the light, leaving darkness and pitch black emptiness. Aiden was frozen, watching in horror as tufts of grass fell into the black hole. Her fear finally spurred her to turn and run. She raced down the hill as fast as she could to escape the coming abyss. She became tangled in the hem of her dress and fell down the hill. She rolled and flailed like a helpless rag doll trying to grasp onto something to stop her descent. Every time she reached for something, it shriveled and came uprooted. Finally she came to a stop at the base. She looked back and saw the darkness creeping down the hill like liquid onyx.

She stood up and tried to begin running, but fell over her dress again. She was shaking as she gathered the fabric in her trembling hands. She could hear the coming darkness bearing down on her like a freight train. She took off running again, she had to get to the building, it was her only refuge. She ignored her burning lungs and the stitch in her side and kept her feet moving. She made it to the doorway and dropped the fabric in her hands. It wouldn't budge as she beat on the door with her tiny fists, screaming desperately for someone to let her in, doubting anyone heard her over the deafening siren directly above her head. She yanked on the doorknob with mounting fear as the darkness closed around her.  
"Please let me in! Please!" She screamed, banging on the door until her knuckles bled.

She glanced over her shoulder, the darkness only a few feet away. She could see shapes shifting and reaching for her as it drew nearer. Half human, zombie looking creatures reached for her with their decaying fingers. She became even more frantic, pounding on the door that was her only escape from the terrifying madness behind her. She was becoming hoarse, her hands were aching, and suddenly everything was quiet. The only sound was her wildly beating heart; it pulsed and vibrated in her head. Tears leaked from her eyes. She was beyond scared. She slowly turned around with her eyes closed. She was breathing erratically as she slowly opened her eyes. She was looking down at the fabric of her dress that had pooled around her, cascading down the concrete steps. She was jarred by a loud screeching noise that sounded like ten thousand fingernails on a giant chalkboard. It set Aiden's teeth on edge. She didn't want to look up; she didn't want to know what kind of creature could make such a noise.

Her eyes slowly raised and strained to make out any shapes that stirred just out of reach to where she could identify what they were. She heard the noise again and wrapped her arms around her shivering body. Something was drawing near her directly in front of her. It came close enough for her to see that it was a humanoid in shape. Its hulking figure became clearer in the dark. Larger than a person it came nearer. It was dragging a colossal knife that made the screeching sound that reverberated in her brain. The creature's head was covered in a large skull like mask as it lurched forward and raised the huge knife over its head.

She pressed herself against the door, her eyes growing wide with panicked fear. It grated out something in an unknown tongue, its voice like rolling thunder before moving to bring the knife down on Aiden. She screamed as she saw the gory blade coming at her. She raised her arms in a pathetic attempt to shield herself and waited for the impact. The door opened and she fell backwards into the building. She saw sparks fly and heard a hideous clang as the blade connected with the concrete where she had just stood. The door slammed shut, separating her from the monster that meant to kill her.

* * *

She stayed still as she willed her heart to slow down before it beat out of her chest. She got to her feet slowly, inspecting her knuckles and freshly scraped palms. It made her think of Alex and how it upset him so for her to get any kind of scratch or bruise on her.

"You're too sweet and fragile to have any marks on you. They just don't look right." He would say.

She wished he were here so she wouldn't be so afraid. She rethought that, she didn't want him here. She couldn't bear the thought of him sacrificing himself to save her. She wiped her stinging hands on her dress to get some of the loose bits of dirt and debris from her wound. She looked up finally, taking in her new surroundings.

She had been transported to some other dimension, some other realm. It was dark here too. Navy blue skies were marred by puffy grey clouds. It was like there was a full moon because she could see everything that was dimly lit from some invisible light source.

Right in front of her were neat rows of sand that looked as if it had been plowed recently. There were three women sitting in the rows, their knees drawn up and swathed in black fabric. Their skin looked like milk and their bluntly cut hair was the color of midnight. Their black eyes stared unblinking up at the starless sky.

Their presence sent chills up her spine.

The one closest to Aiden turned its head sharply, black eyes focusing on her, "Have you seen her? Have you seen my daughter? She's beautiful, so what?"

She turned sharply, her head tilted back to continue looking up at the sky.

The second one snapped its gaze to Aiden, "Where do you come from? What world? You sail so gently."

It snapped its head back to look at the sky.

The third girl turned, "I'm always rather nervous about being found out by the cherub child with the rosebud pout."

She then repeated the others actions and jutted her chin to the sky.

Aiden watched the creepy triplets with a look of confusion. Was that supposed to make sense to her? Was that supposed to mean something to her? She was shaking again; unnerved by this eerie new world she had tumbled into.

"I-I don't understand." She said softly.

She wrung her hands in fear and confusion. She wanted to leave. She wanted to find her baby and leave. The three triplets giggled like school girls before returning to their stoic stares.

The first one looked at her, "Green is my favorite number. Daisies grow in trees."

The second looked at her as the first looked back to the sky, "There are cats in the walls, their faces are shy."

"Stop it! That doesn't make any sense!" Aiden shouted, frustrated by their nonsense.

The third one turned to her undeterred by her statement, "You're angry, eat soup, it keeps the flies away."

She stamped her foot furious tears welling up, "Where am I?"

They didn't answer her.

She let out an aggravated yell, "Where is my baby?"

"She's dead."

"Her father took her."

"It's your fault. You did this."

Aiden dropped to her knees in the sandy gravel and put her face in her hands. She felt like she was slowly losing her mind. She gathered her determination; she was going to get answers from those weirdos even if she had to shake it out of them.

* * *

When she raised her head she was in a hospital bed. She looked down at her arms that had various tubes in them, the muted green gown wore was scratching at her skin. She looked around the sterile room, trying to determine if she was still locked in the bizarre world. The door was open and she heard sounds of what she deemed normal hospital banter. She didn't know what to do; her impatience was gnawing at her.

"Hello?" She called.

A passing nurse came into the room, "You're awake finally."

She smiled and Aiden shrunk back into the bed. She was normal and quite pleasant in her appearance except for her mouth.

The teeth were rotten, gums bleeding as she continued to smile, unaware of her unfortunate condition.

"I'll go get your baby." She said her voice as velvety as a flower petal.

Aiden went to protest, but the nurse had already swished out the door. Aiden shivered at the thought of her baby in the nurse's arms.

A few moments later the nurse came, cradling a small child in her arms.

"Time to meet your mommy." She sang, putting the dirty child on the floor.

It staggered to keep its balance on its new legs.

"Play nice." The nurse smiled her hideous smile, again closing the door behind her.

"Wait! There's been some kind of mis...take." Aiden called, her eyes darting back to the child tottering on the floor.

Surely this wasn't hers, she knew it wasn't. Its straggly hair covered its face partially as it looked up. Aiden pressed herself back into the bed when she saw its face. It looked like a ball of melted wax, misshapen and oozing with entrails and stuffing. Its beady black button eyes watched her with no emotion. Its gaping maw hung open like its jaw had been broken, showcasing rows of needle like teeth.

She was terrified of the scarecrow looking child. It staggered forward on its wobbly legs as Aiden looked for some way to escape or defend herself. She had several machines attached to her and was unsure of the ramifications of her being unattached to them in this insane world.

Her heart skidded to a stop when she saw two dirty hands reach up at the foot of her bed. The nasty thing slowly raised its beady eyes to where it could see over the rail. Aiden swallowed her scream as it inched over the railing and plopped onto the bed, causing more bloody kapok to leak out. She felt the bile rise in the back of her throat as the hideous doll like creature gathered itself and stood back up. Aiden looked over her knees, completely terrified.

"Go away." She begged softly.

The doll stopped, bloody tears falling from its black button eyes. She saw the change in the expression of the misshapen creature and knew she had angered it. It squawked and tripped over the blankets and fell onto Aiden's legs. She kicked and screamed, desperately trying to get it off of her. She pushed at it but was caught on the arm by its razor sharp teeth. She gasped in shock and grabbed the thing by its hair and pulled it forcefully off of her. She flung it to the floor and looked at her arm that was missing a hunk of skin where the rabid doll had bitten her.

She cried out in pain and terror as the doll chewed happily on the ground. Aiden screamed in fury at the evil thing.

She steeled her jaw and pulled out her IV's and marched to the door. She heard a scrambling noise behind her and turned quickly to see the doll trying to get its feet, going to run at her. She opened the door, not wanting it to get near her.

* * *

As soon as she stepped into the hall she began falling. There was no floor, just the ever present blackness. Her hospital gown had been transformed into a blood red gown with yards and yards of fabric that flapped noisily around her. She was falling so fast she couldn't breathe. The rushing wind roared in her ears and stung her eyes. It seemed like she fell for days and days, expecting to hit the bottom, but never doing so. The fear of that impact made her sick. She didn't want to die. She wanted to be home with Alex and her baby.

As soon as that thought entered her head, she was plunged head first into a black pool of water. She kicked, praying that she was swimming to the surface. Her lungs were burning by the time she broke the surface. She gulped in oxygen and struggled to stay above the water, the heavy fabric dragging her down. She cried out for help, hearing her desperate plea echo. A dim light a few yards away caught her attention as she frantically swam to it.

She could barely pull herself up onto the rock platform where light seeped through a thin vertical slit. She looked at her arm that was throbbing from where the demon doll had bitten her. Her stomach turned at the exposed muscle and bone. She went to the light and peered through. It was Alex's kitchen. She turned to look around and saw the familiar groceries that she always bought and stocked on the shelves, the black cave and water had vanished.

She pushed on the doors but they wouldn't budge. Alex came into the room, muttering under his breath with a lit cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He looked the same but more worn, depressed. He yanked open the cabinet, grabbed a frying pan, and dropped it on the burner as he turned the stove on.

"You just get home Lex?" A snide voice asked out of eyesight.

"Don't start your shit." He said, his voice sounding grave.

Mollie came into view with a young child on her hip and her belly swollen from being pregnant, "Don't start my shit huh? Why don't you start acting like a real man and own up to some of your responsibilities around here?"

He poured some cooking oil into the frying pan to let it heat up, "Like what? You?"

"Yes me, and your kids. I am sick to death of having to stay here and keep up this house and raise all of your brats and never getting any help from you." She bellowed.

"Shut the hell up Mollie. I'm never here because of you and all of this nagging bullshit." He said, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

Mollie put the toddler into the high chair and poured out some cereal for him, "You think I wanted all of this?"

"Yeah, I do. You _begged_ for it, remember?" he told her, laying pieces of bacon in the grease.

An older little girl, maybe five or six came into the room tentatively. Aiden's stomach lurched again as she realized that it was her daughter.

Had she died during childbirth? Was this her purgatory?

"Go sit down!" Mollie barked at her, making Aiden's blood boil.

The little girl with the dark blonde hair rushed to her seat. Aiden cried, she looked so scared.

Alex went to the little girl and kissed the top of her head and sat a plate of bacon and toast in front of her.

"Hello? Your son and pregnant girlfriend are over here too!" Mollie snapped.

"Shut up." He grated.

"I bet you didn't treat _Aiden_ this way." She sneered.

The little girl stopped chewing and looked frighteningly between Alex and Mollie.

"What did you say?" he growled, slowly turning to look at Mollie.

"You heard me.' She shot back.

He threw the spatula at the wall, knocking off a picture frame.

"You're not allowed to bring her up. You know that!" he shouted.

"You wish I was her, just admit it. I'm never going to be her. I'm never going to cook and clean for you like she did. I don't want to raise her 'Golden Child' with you either. I'm sick of this Alex! I hate you! I hate her, and most of all I hate Aiden!" Mollie cried.

The little girl got out of her seat and crawled under the table as Alex and Mollie went at it. She had her hands over her ears and her knees drawn up to her chest.

Aiden struggled to be free from the closet to go and get her daughter and assure her that she would be okay. She banged on the door, yelling to be set free. Everything happened in slow motion. Mollie slapped Alex with all of her might. He staggered back, his hand coming down on the handle of the frying pan, sending it sailing into the air. It came crashing down on the floor, sending a large amount of grease airborne and onto the little girl cowering under the table.

"NO!" Aiden screamed, trying even more frantically to get out of the pantry.

She heard a faint whimper form the little girl as Alex dropped to his knees to gather her in his arms. If Aiden could get out of there she would kill them both. She didn't care about anything but her daughter's anguish and her own revenge. She dropped to the floor in a heap, frustrated that she couldn't rescue her child. She cried into her hands, hunched over with grief.

* * *

When she looked back up, she was out of the pantry and in a glass cube in a white room. She looked around at the padded walls and floor. Her outfit had changed again into an olive green and gold Grecian inspired gown. Her arm, she saw, had been stitched crudely with golden thread. Her hands reached out to feel for a way to get out. The top opened and she carefully got out. She looked around again, trying not to think about what she had just witnessed.

She lay down, exhausted by her travels. She ran her fingertips over the soft material, spacing out. She was scared, alone, tired, and hungry. She couldn't wrap her head around anything that had happened. She wasn't sure where she was or even if she were dead or alive. The sadness she felt was weighing on her like a thousand pounds. She heard the siren go off again and made no effort to move. Tears fell from her eyes on the comforting mattress like material.

_"You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me happy _

_When skies are grey_

_You'll never know, dear, _

_How much I love you_

_Please don't take my sunshine away."_

She sang softly as the room crumbled and gave way to the darkness.

She closed her eyes, letting more tears fall. Pictures flashed in front of her like a movie.

The first time she ever met Alex, when he bumped into her at the coffee shop. His boyish grin and his mischievous eyes melted her heart. He wiped at her ruined boots, trying to help her. She wasn't mad, surprisingly, she had wanted to run her fingers through his unruly fauxhawk, and ask what secret he was hiding behind the sparkle in his eye.

The next picture flashed of the first time they made love. He'd been so nervous and gentle, as he undressed her. She had expected him to be grabby and rush things, yet he had surprised her again with his tenderness. She watched him sleep that night, loving how innocent he looked in slumber. She realized she loved him that night.

_The other night dear_

_As I lay sleeping_

_I dreamed I held you in my arms_

_When I awoke, dear,_

_I was mistaken_

_And I hung my head and cried_

She was in Paris on a Sunday morning, staring at "the cold side of the bed." She was crying, wishing that Alex was with her. She wondered what he was doing on his birthday, who he was with, what gifts he'd gotten, if he was happy. She sniffed as her mind conjured up an image of him staring at her with that permanent smirk in his eyes. She sighed deeply, scolding herself for thinking about him, even though she still kissed her fingertips and pressed them into the pillow where his head would have laid.

_You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me happy _

_When skies are grey_

_You'll never know, dear, _

_How much I love you_

_Please don't take my sunshine away_

She was looking down at the pregnancy test in her shaking hand. A plus mark confirmed why she was ill that morning. She had been given a miracle; she had been blessed with a baby…Alex's baby. She was thrilled and scared at the same time. Would he be as excited as she was? They'd never talked about having children before. Later that night, after Ajay and Chris left, they lay together in bed. His hand inched over to cover her stomach for the first time.

"I've never been happier." He smiled.

That statement alone brought tears to her eyes as she snuggled into his chest.

_I'll always love you_

_And make you happy_

_If you will only say the same_

_But if you leave me_

_To love another_

_You'll regret it all some day_

She sat on the dock at her parents land, overlooking the beautiful marshes as the sun set on them. She let her feet dangle off the end as she watched the tiny fish swim around. Her heart was heavy again. Alex's betrayal of her had left her reeling. She felt like a fool, an idiot for believing and trusting him again. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. How were they supposed to be a family if she couldn't trust him? How were they supposed to welcome their baby into a life of turmoil? She felt her arm being nudged by one of her beagles. It rested its head on her lap as she patted its head.

"Be glad you don't have to deal with boys, Peaches, they're a pain sometimes." She whispered.

The dog lifted its head and tilted it to the side as if trying to comprehend. Aiden smiled, wishing she could be obliviously happy as Peaches was.

"Aiden…."

She turned, hearing her mother calling from the house. She sighed, still undecided on whether she would go back to him again or not.

She flashed forward to where she was in her baby's nursery, admiring her finished work. On the door hung a pink and black sign with cursive letters that read "Ooh La La." The Paris themed room was done in all pink and black with a mural of the Eiffel tower on the wall. Alex had bought every stuffed poodle he could fine to stock the nursery with.

Aiden smiled at all the little details and all the little things in general. Tiny dresses, socks, coats, and shoes were in the closet. Little tables and chairs were staged for when she was older. Pictures of Alex and Aiden hung on the wall, along with pictures of Aiden's growing belly and sonograms. She folded a blanket that was in the crib and draped it over the side.

"There's Mommy. Can you tell her hello?" Alex asked softly as he came in the room with their baby.

She smiled as tears cascaded down her face. She had finally found her beloved husband and baby. Before she could peer into the blanket, the vision faded and the siren blared in her head. Everything was going black again.

She sat up in the still crumbling room that she had been in with a gasp. In the distance she heard the soft cry of her baby for the first time. It was her first audible memory of her sweet angel. Her voice sounded like a bell ringing and it called to Aiden. Called for her not to give up. Called for her to fight. She stood up, her determination strengthened. She wasn't giving up, her baby needed her.

_You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me happy_

_When skies are grey_

_You'll never know, dear,_

_How much I love you_

_Please don't take my sunshine away _

_

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**Can't wait to hear what you've got to say about this one :) Review please! Shout outs to those that do (incentive lol) xoxo**  
_


	35. Reunited

_**Thanks to World's Biggest Jericoholic and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight(this chapter is for you:) for reviewing! Thanks for keeping up with me and showing me love! **_

**_Thanks to TJ as well for continuing to put up with me...bless your little heart._**

**_And to Dee for being her :)_**

**_Kay...done with shout outs...read on and enjoy!_**

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Alex hadn't been able to stop the continuous flow of tears, though he had finally quieted his sobs of anguish. He sat with his head in his hands completely drained of everything. He felt like the day would never end. In the pit of his stomach he knew his nightmare was only beginning. He knew nothing could even begin to heal his broken heart. He wasn't even sure if it was still in his chest or not. Mollie continued to rub his back trying to help out in anyway she could.

"Mr. Martin." a nurse called softly.

He looked up slowly.

"Would you like to see your wife?" she asked timidly.

Alex felt his friends' inquisitive stares on him. He stood on his legs that were shaking, how was he going to react to seeing his deceased wife?

He covered his chest, the flames licking and rising higher within his chest.

Petey caught his arm, "If you need someone to go with you…."

He stopped when Alex shook his head. He wanted to suffer alone, he wanted to say his goodbyes in solitude. He shuffled his feet to follow the young nurse back to Aiden's room. The lump in his throat grew three times larger when they arrived at the room.

The young girl turned to Alex, "Try to be calm and quiet, she doesn't need to get too emotional, she's not completely in the clear yet with her blood pressure so please keep that in mind."

Alex only heard emotional and blood pressure everything else was muted out by his throbbing head and pounding heartbeat. He nodded and went into the room.

The blinds had been shut and most of the lights had been dimmed. He shut the door and leaned against it with his hand over his chest again. He stared at her for the longest time, trying to memorize every detail of her beautiful face, every curve, every dimple, every slope, every….thing. He had to, for their daughter. She looked so sweet and perfect, almost childlike in the soft glow of the room. Her golden hair sat on her shoulders like spun silk, her lips were set in a demure pout, her dainty hands were laced over the top of her midsection.

He rubbed at his eyes thinking they were playing tricks on him. He could have sworn he had seen her take a breath. He had to have imagined it, his mind producing an acceptable image to combat his heartache. Yet he saw it again. He saw her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath. He shook his head, thinking he was crazy until he saw her shift slightly in the bed. His heart had ceased to function as he went to her side.

He reached out to touch her, praying she wasn't cold. His fingertips touched her soft, warm skin. This wasn't real, it was a figment of his imagination. She was dead…wasn't she? He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear causing her to stir again, and this time open her eyes. What was left of his shattered heart melted when he saw those gorgeous eyes focus on him.

The corners of her mouth tweaked into a smile, "There you are. I've been looking of you."

Alex had to force himself to breathe and remain calm. He had never felt such emotion before, such relief, such joy knowing that he didn't have to face the world alone.

"I-I thought you…." he stuttered before laying his head on her shoulder and letting go.

He cried his relief and all of his emotions as she cradled his head and pressed her lips to his temple.

He finally sat up to look at her, he cupped her face in his hands, "I love you Aiden. Please don't ever leave me again."

She smiled, her eyes shimmering, "I'll do my best."

He nodded, satisfied with her answer.

She moved to sit up some more, "I want to see our baby. Will you get her?"

He sat still just staring at her for the longest time. He finally leaned forward and kissed her. All of his emotions all of his fears and joys went into that kiss.

He sat back after a few moments smiling as she tried to catch her breath, "I'll be right back, be prepared because you're about to see the cutest baby in the world."

Aiden laughed as he hurried to go get their daughter. She was so anxious to finally see and hold her baby girl. She'd been waiting almost nine months for this moment. He returned a few minutes later his arms cradling a pink blanket. She wanted to jump up and down and do cartwheels she was so excited that this was finally happening. Alex stopped, however and was frowning at one of the monitors.

"Bring her over here." Aiden ordered, her excitement trumping her manners.

"Honey, calm down first. The doctors said you have to stay calm to keep your blood pressure down." he murmured.

Aiden took a deep breath, holding her arms out for him to bring her baby to her. He sat next to her lowering his arms for her to peer into the blanket.

"She's so beautiful." she whispered.

Alex nodded, "She takes after you.'

He carefully handed the baby off to her, sitting back to appreciate the tender moment before him.

"Look at all of her hair." Aiden laughed as she pulled off he little stocking cap.

Dark curls swirled on her little head, "Just like yours when you were a baby."

He smiled proudly as Aiden continued to inspect her child.

"She's got your lips and nose too." she gushed, "Wonder what color her eyes are?"

"Wake her up and see." he suggested.

She looked up at him, "I don't want her to cry."

Alex chuckled, "She won't, she's the best little baby. I tried to keep her awake most of the time so I could talk to her."

He leaned over and rubbed his daughter's stomach gently, "Hey you, wake up and meet your mommy."

Her eyebrows furrowed into an angry miniature pout at his nudging of her, "Don't make that face, wake up."

He blew into her face. Her hands came up to her cheeks as she let out a little squeak. Aiden smiled as tears fell down her face, he was so good with her already. He was a natural father, which didn't really come as a surprise to her. She was fortunate enough to know the Alex that not many people got to see.

He wiggled her hand as she yawned and finally blinked her eyes open, "There she is, there's my pretty girl."

The baby broke into a little smile as she finally looked at Aiden.

Aiden covered her mouth as she looked at eyes that mirrored her own, "She has my eyes."

Alex nodded, "That's why you had to make it because I didn't know how I was going to look at her everyday if you were gone. It would have killed me."

Aiden lifted the baby up to kiss her cheeks and settle her onto her shoulder, "I loved you both too much to leave you.'

He kissed her gently, "So we did pretty good with her huh?"

She laughed, "Definitely."

"Aiden?" Chris called from the doorway, "You were…Alex said that you had died."

She smiled, "I'm here now."

"I've got to tell the others." he said rushing from the room.

"Yeah, so you're about to get bombarded. Want me to take her?" he asked.

"No, not yet." she said resting the baby back in her arms.

He nodded, smiling down at the little girl who kept sticking her tongue out, "She's probably hungry. We'll need to get her a bottle in a little while."

She couldn't' take her eyes off the baby. She was all Aiden had ever wanted. Chris and the others came bustling in the room, ignoring the protests of the young nurse who had lead Alex back.

"There are too many people in here! She can't be too excited, you're going to have to leave now!" the nurse ordered."It's okay, I'm fine. Don't make them leave yet, please?" Aiden asked.

She sighed, "Ten minutes, that's it."

Aiden smiled and then looked back at the group, "Hi."

They had tears in their eyes as they laughed at her.

"So where'd ya go Frenchie?" James piped up, trying to lighten the mood some.

He had started calling her that after their meeting in France. She looked down, her journey still fresh in her mind. They watched her intently.

"I don't remember." she lied, "But I heard her cry and I just sort of woke up."

Chris came forward and put his arms around her as he kissed her cheek, "It really sucked not having you here, but we're so glad that you're back now."

She squeezed his hand.

"So do we finally get to meet Supergirl?" Petey asked feeling light as a feather, despite his other issues he had yet to deal with.

She looked confused, "You haven't seen her yet?"

Alex stepped forward then, "I wanted you to see her first. I didn't think it was right for anyone to see her before you go to."

She though that was so sweet and thoughtful of Alex. She gently turned the baby around and pulled the blanket from her that was concealing her face. A chorus of "awws" came from everyone except Ajay. Aiden had kept her eyes on her to gauge her reaction. She could tell Ajay was extremely uncomfortable and was seemingly trying to blend into the background.

"She must still be mad at me." Aiden thought sadly.

"What did you name her?" James asked.

Aiden looked back at her husband, "You didn't tell them that either?"

He shook his head, "It didn't seem right without you here."

She smiled again at his thoughtfulness before turning back to their friends, "We named her Savannah Alexis Martin."

"That's perfect." Chris commented picking the infant up and bringing her over to James,Mollie and Petey.

They all cooed over Savannah as Alex and James argued over who's features she had inherited. Aiden kept looking at Ajay expectantly, waiting for her opportunity to apologize once again to her former best friend.

Ajay avoided her eye contact and kept her tearful expression toward the ground. She couldn't look at Aiden knowing all the pain she had caused. She couldn't look at Savannah knowing she was the main reason her mother had almost died. She didn't deserve anything but to suffer. Aiden should never forgive her, she didn't even deserve her pity. What she had done was unforgivable and she knew it, yet when she glanced up, she was met with Aiden's pleading eyes.

She felt a gentle push from Petey who had gradually moved over to her. He knew her well enough to know that she wasn't able to make the first move. She shook her head quickly earning a harder push form him. Ajay chewed on her lip, there was no way she could expect forgiveness from Aiden, nor could she live with herself if she forced Aiden to accept her apology by making a scene. She had acted like a total bitch, she should be treated like an outcast, she deserved nothing less than to be a leper.

It didn't help matters that she could feel the heat from Alex's glare. He too was no where near forgiving her, not that she could blame him. If he had been directly involved with Chris' near death and Kenzie or Joey's health and well being, she would have killed him with her bare hands.

"Tink, get your ass up." Petey whispered.

"I can't." Ajay hissed through her tears.

She was planning on ducking out as soon as she got the chance so she wouldn't upset Aiden or Alex. She glanced up again, her eyes locking with Aiden's. Ajay froze as Aiden raised her arms out to her, beckoning her to come closer.

"Please?" Aiden whispered.

Ajay stifled a sob as she rushed into Aiden's arms. She winced at Ajay's impact because it jarred her C-section incision. She ignored the pain and held onto her long lost friend for dear life. Ajay couldn't help her reaction, she had almost lost this opportunity to make things as right as they could be. She needed this moment so that she could begin to forgive herself. She felt firm hands grip her shoulders and pull her away from Aiden. She looked back to see Petey's concerned face. Alex had appeared at Aiden's beside instantly, his eyes darting back and forth from the beeping monitor to Aiden.

"I'm sorry." Ajay choked out.

Two nurses came in, "Okay, we're going to need everyone to leave, she needs to rest for awhile."

Chris gently laid Savannah back in the little bassinet as they filed out the door. Aiden reached out and grabbed Ajay's hand, holding it with a death grip.

"Aiden, she needs to leave." Alex said glaring at Ajay.

"No, I want to talk to her first." She said holding onto Ajay as she tried to leave again.

"Aiden…" he tried to argue, but noticed the numbers rise on the screen and turned to Ajay, "You can come back in a little while."

Savannah let out a tiny whimper indicating that she wanted attention too. He sat down after picking up his daughter and began feeding her her bottle. He was not happy at all with Ajay's continued presence.

After the nurses had adjusted Aiden's IV's they left with the suggestion that she rested.

Ajay was watching her tearfully as she reclined back.

"I'm so glad you're here." Aiden whispered, "I didn't think you'd come."

Ajay wet her lips nervously glancing at Alex in the corner, "Aiden' I'm, I'm so sorry about everything. I can't believe how stupid and selfish I've been. I almost lost you, my best friend because of my insecurities."

She stopped because she was crying so hard.

"Ajay, I just want to forget everything that's happened. I don't want to be away from you anymore." Aiden said smiling slightly, the drugs beginning to take effect.

Ajay shook her head, "Please, I want you to be mad at me. I want you to hate me. I don't deserve your forgiveness, I knew how sick you were and how badly you needed me and look at what I did to you. Just, just yell at me, hit me, something, anything, just don't be nice to me." She cried dropping her head onto the bed in a fit of sobs.

Alex rolled his eyes in the corner while he tended to Savannah. He wasn't ready to forgive yet. He thought it was ridiculous that Aiden was letting her off the hook so easily after everything that had happened. He agreed with Ajay, she deserved to suffer.

Aiden was slowly succumbing to the sedative she'd been administered, yet she managed to pull Ajay up to look at her, "You know how you almost lost me, well I almost lost all of you too. I'm not going to let another moment go by with this between us. We've been through too much, and you're too special to me for this to continue on."

Ajay nodded, hugging Aiden tightly. She sat at her beside holding her hand until she fell asleep. She inhaled a shaky breath and brought Aiden's hand up to her cheek.

She pressed her face into it closing her eyes, "I'm so sorry Aiden."

She tucked the blankets around her sleeping friend and slowly went to the door. Alex followed her into the hall closing the door behind them. Ajay looked up into his eyes not surprised to see the animosity in them.

"She may have forgiven you, but I can't…not yet." he said in a hushed voice.

She nodded the pain of disappointment spearing through her. She never imagined it would hurt so much for Alex to be mad at her.

"I'm telling you right now Ashton, if you ever do anything like this again, after she's forgiven you so readily, I will make you regret it for the rest of your life. You got off far too easily in there, and you know it." he growled.

Ajay let out a soft sob, her body shaking in the truth of his words.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" she cried, her voice quivering.

He stared at her, his face devoid of any pity or remorse, "Just go , I've seen enough of you today."

Ajay lowered her head, breaking into tears again at his harsh words, as she went down the hall to the waiting room. Chris caught her and held her in his arms as she cried.

"I've got to get out of here. I've got to be by myself for a little while." she stammered.

"Want me to go with you?" he asked hoping she would say yes.

It always scared him when she got this way. She could be very irrational at times and it always set him on edge.

She shook her head, wiping her tears as she finally looked up, "I just want to drive up to Gran's and get Joey and Kenzie and clear my head a little bit."

"Did you get to talk to Aiden?" Petey asked, his concern evident.

"Yes." she said.

"How did that go?" Chris wondered, helping her dry her tears with his sleeve.

"Fine, she said she just wanted to forget everything that happened between us." she hiccupped.

Chris and Petey exchanged looks. If things had went so well, then why was she still so upset?

"So what's wrong babe? Why are you taking off?" Chris questioned gently.

She inhaled a shaky breath, "Alex is still really mad at him, not that I blame him, but I just wish I could erase what I did to them."

Chris pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm sorry honey, I'll talk to him if you want me to."

"Yeah, you know how Alex can be sometimes…" Petey tried to reassure her.

"I just want to get on the road. I miss my babies." She sighed sadly.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the car then." Chris offered.

She said her goodbyes to her friends and made them promise to call her with updates on Aiden and Savannah before she went with Chris to the parking garage. After he watched Ajay pull out into traffic he turned to go back into the hospital to escape the freezing Detroit weather. He shrunk down into his hoodie some more and watched his breath float out in mists as he entered through the sliding doors.

He hit the number to the floor Aiden was on and stepped on with an odd combination of feelings. He was reluctant to say the least about talking to Alex about Ajay. He huffed out a deep breath and stared at his reflection in the panels of the elevator ceiling. He just hoped Alex was a little more understanding than last time when it came to Ajay. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation at all.

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_**...so I didn't kill her :) What do you think about the baby's name? Review and let me know please :) xoxo**_

**_ps. Demi~next chapter is for you dahling :)_**


	36. Deal

_**REPOSTED DUE TO MY BEING IN A HURRY AND NOT PROOFREADING BETTER :) SORRY!**_

_**Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight and World's Biggest Jericoholic for reviewing!**_

**_As promised, this chapter is for you Demi! Thanks for your help with it :)_**

* * *

Chris came back and sat down beside Mollie. She looked stiff and lost in space as she sat looking at the floor.

"You okay?" he questioned.

She nodded as she contined to stare off across the room.

Chris caught James' shrug when he turned to Petey, "Let's see if Alex will go with us to get something to eat. He's gotta be sick of this hosptial food."

"If he's not, I am. I'm starving!" James piped up.

"Sorry, we forgot its all about James." Petey laughed, "Let's go get him."

They all went back down to Aiden's room. Chris knocked softly before they all came in. Alex was kicked back in his chair with his eyes closed.

"Oh well, he probably needs to sleep. We can bring him something back." Petey muttered.

Chris pushed past them. He had to get Alex to go with them. It was really bothering him that Alex had treated Ajay the way that he had, and he knew he wouldn't be able to talk to him in front of Aiden. She always got to far too upset when people argued, he reminded himself.

"Alex, wake up." he said.

He sat up quickly, instantly looking at Aiden and then Savannah, "You scared the shit out of me." he whispered furiously.

"Sorry. We were going to get something to eat, did you want to go?" Chris invited.

Alex stretched and yawned, "I can't leave them alone."

"I'll stay with them." Mollie offered.

Alex's eyes snapped to Mollie's in confusion, "I don't know..."

"We'll make it back before she wakes up, come on." Chris urged.

Alex never took his eyes off Mollie, trying to read why she would make the offer to stay with Aiden and the baby.

He stood up slowly, "You'll..."

"I'll call you if she wakes up." she interrupted.

He stared at her for several moments before consenting, "Savannah should be good, I just fed and changed her, so uh...yeah."

He kissed Savannah and then Aiden, then placed a hand on Mollie's shoulder, "Uh...thanks."

She shrugged off his hand and sat in the furthest corner from the bed. She crossed her legs in the quiet room inspecting her cuticles as the guys left.

Why the hell had she offered to stay with Aiden? Sure she was sorry about what the girl had gone through but it still didn't excuse the fact that she and Alex had used her in their little "hide the bump" game. Not to mention the fact that she was still with Alex despite her best effort to pry him away from her. She was almost one hundred percent sure that Aiden would be done with him after the Bahamas, but hell no! She came prancing back from Georgia and reclaimed him.

How did Alex not see that Mollie was the one for him? Seriously, did he have blinders on or something, was he that disgustingly in love with her that he'd forgotten all the time she had forgiven him for his transgressions? She wasn't uptight or fake, she wasn't sugary sweet and Betty Crocker all the time. How can he be attracted to her and all of that Stepford wife bullshit? He was certainly no Ward Cleaver. He lived for the nightlife, fast cars and women, booze and broads, nights he'd never remember with friends he'd never forget, and now look at him. He had two kids and was married to Marcia fucking Brady.

She cut her eyes up at Aiden who was still deeply asleep. She scoffed in frustration. A near death experience seemed to only brighten the glow that emanated from her. It made Mollie cringe to think of how clingy and overprotective not only Alex would be but also Chris, Ajay, and probably Petey.

She just didn't get it, wasn't that what all the songs were about nowadays, independent women? Certainly not innocent, virginal white, squeaky clean ones. She belonged in a Taylor Swift song. Alex belonged in a Metallica song. He was way too wild for her to tame, even Mollie who knew practically everything about him, had a hard time keeping up at times.

That was the thing about Alex though, he was very hit or miss. When he was good he was great, when he was bad he was fantastic. He couldn't help what was laid out before him, sometimes literally. He played the cards that were dealt him and that was that.

She stood up with a huff and went to the window. She couldn't stand to look at Aiden any longer. Mollie chewed on her lip thinking about the good times with Alex.

The time she had the flu and he came over in a makeshift Haz-Mat suit to deliver her favorite pumpkin soup and Cherry Garcia ice cream. Or the time she had fought with her dad, one of several fights actually, and he had walked with her up and down the beach in Orlando until the sun rose. In the dark, he'd somehow managed to make a heart out of seashells with her name in the middle. When she had fractured her ankle during a match, he carried her around the entire night of her birthday, piggyback style so she could go out and enjoy the night with her friends. She had listened to him talk for hours about what the business meant to him and how badly he wanted to excel in such an unfair sport. She went along with his crazy idea for a half black half white Mohawk hairstyle, even as far as dyeing his hair late that same night because he was so taken by the idea.

His touches sent chills up her spine, his kisses were electric, his heart….wasn't hers.

It belonged to Aiden now, and for all the awful, horrible, two-timing, man whorish things he had done in their on again off again relationship, Aiden was the dagger to Mollie's heart. She was the kryptonite that brought the whole thing down. Mollie laughed angrily fighting tears at the unexpected flood of memories.

Savannah stirred and let out a small coo from the corner. Mollie looked over her shoulder at the flailing baby. She had kicked her blanket off and was kicking her feet excitedly. Another coo, louder this time, eager for acknowledgement. Mollie took a few steps to close the distance to the bassinet and sat down in Alex's post, between the baby and Aiden.

Mollie smiled reluctantly at the little girl. She had to admit, Alex did make very pretty babies. Aiden's eyes stared up at her from Savannah's face.

"Babies should have such piercing eyes." Mollie teased softly.

The little girl broke into a smile, happy she'd finally gotten a response.

Mollie sat watching her kick and blink in her little crib, "No wonder she was sick all the time, look at you."

She let out another coo, this time loud and long. Mollie stole a glance at Aiden to see if she had woken up. Still sound asleep. The baby's lip poked out then, her eyes filling with tears. Mollie looked back at Aiden, unsure of what to do. When Savannah started to cry, Mollie sighed and reached into the bassinet to pick her up.

She sat back in the chair looking down at the now content baby. Mollie took her finger and wiped away the little tears she had shed, a few escaping from her own eyes as well.

She had pictured this moment quite a few times in her life and only with one man…Alex. She had pictured their wedding day, small and informal, probably in a small church somewhere, with flowers in her hair, just the two of them. She had pictured herself waking up to him snuggled to her womb cracking jokes about ridiculous off the wall names they should name their baby. She could see him strutting around backstage with their child and her father chatting amicably.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"What are you looking at?" She asked as the little girl smiled again, "Stop being so cute, you're making this a lot worse than it should be."

She kicked and held her hands into fists at her face, oblivious to Mollie's suffering.

She held her finger out for Savannah to grab onto.

She laughed looking up to the ceiling as she cried harder, "You're killing me here kid."

When she looked back down Savannah was falling back to sleep finally. She looked back over at Aiden surprised to see her awake and looking over at them.

"Umm, she was fussy, so I…" she muttered awkwardly, moving to put her back in the bassinet.

"I don't mind if you hold her Mollie." Aiden stopped her quietly.

Mollie pulled the baby back to her cursing the tears that fell when the she snuggled closer to her.

"I owe you an apology Mollie." Aiden admitted, gingerly rolling on her side to face Mollie.

Shel aughed again, "Figures you would apologize to me after I seduced your husband."

Aiden was quiet then, lost in flashbacks of the Bahamas trip and her visions while she was comatose of Mollie playing step-mommy to her baby. It was very surreal to look at her holding Savannah.

"I of course didn't expect things to go that far." Aiden said matter-of-factly.

"Then maybe Alex should be the one apologizing instead of you." Mollie stated.

"I don't think he will." she sighed.

"Of course he won't, he's never really cared about my feelings anyways." She scoffed carefully shifting Savannah in her arms.

"I'm sorry for that, for what I did." Aiden said.

"No you're not. If he cared about me, he wouldn't be with you. You knew he didn't care about me that's why you picked me out as a target, you knew he wouldn't leave you for me." She shot back.

"That's just it, I didn't think. I was so scared of everyone finding out about me, Alex, and the baby that I wasn't considering all the possibilities and consequences. I really am sorry for what I did to you." Aiden admitted softly.

She shook her head, "I _hate_ you Aiden. I can't stand you or your relationship with Alex. I hate that you're with him, that you got him to marry you, that you had his baby, I hate that he ever bumped into you. I hate that he ever met you."

Aiden stayed perfectly still, reeling from Mollie's honesty.

"I never expected to be here, to be with him. I could have never guessed that I would end up dating a guy like Alex, he certainly wasn't the kind of person I usually went out with." she stated.

"Oh let me guess, rich, preppy, graduated from some school with a huge football team with a degree in business, president of his daddy's frat, following in his footsteps. All you would have had to do was don your big southern belle Scarlet O' Hara hat at the debutante ball and all the boys would trip over themselves to get to you. Then you would have led a wonderful life, raising babies, cooking lavish dinners, and hosting tea parties to talk about how great you are. What would all of your mama's friends say if they knew you married and had a kid with some guy from across the tracks from Detroit?" Mollie spat out.

"They do know about Alex and that I was pregnant." Aiden shot back, angrily, "What does that matter? You act like you weren't raised the same way I was Mollie."

She laughed ruthlessly then, "That's exactly my point…**NOBODY** was raised the way you were. None of us skipped through life as naïve and sheltered as you! Nobody has ever been like you, you never falter, you always say the right things, even when you say stupid shit everybody smiles and awws and pats you on the head going _'Isn't she adorable?_' Seriously, isn't it exhausting being you? _'No, I love waking up in the morning to singing birds and butterflies on my window sill." _Mollie mocked answering her own question.

Aiden blinked letting tears fall down her face, "Why are you so mean?"

Mollie rolled her eyes laughing again, "There you go again. That doe eyed, weepy bullshit doesn't work on me. I don't care if you cry. Be honest don't you want to yell and scream at me? Aren't you mad right now? You do have other emotions right? Everything isn't always sunshine and fucking rainbows with you or am I wrong?"

"Yes, but I feel sorry for you more than anything." Aiden cried.

Mollie shook her head, "No, lets be honest with each other right now. Go ahead and say what's on your mind there's nobody here to see you _tarnish your image_ by being real for once. Go ahead and tell me Aiden, come on."

Aiden shrugged, "I'm not playing your stupid game Mollie."

"Why not, I played yours. Come on, tell me, don't hold back, I didn't with you. Go on you can do it." She prompted.

Aiden shook her head still crying.

"Don't you want to finally confront me about going down on Alex at the beach? How we spent that night together and how he didn't even think twice about you because of me. You're not mad that I'm holding Alex's baby? I bet you're picturing the way things might have been if you never showed up huh?" She pushed.

Aiden was stirred then by the images of Mollie and Alex arguing and her baby being caught in the middle.

Those emotions and the anger surged forward then, "It still hurts when I think about what happened in the Bahamas. I was so mad, and embarrassed more than anything." She stopped then debating internally quickly, she didn't want what she saw while she was in the coma to effect her in reality, but the images were so fresh in her mind.

She was staring blankly as she watched the scene with Mollie and Alex again their loud voices filed her head and made her ears ring. She was sure Mollie could hear them too they were so loud in her head. She saw Savannah huddled under the table with her ears covered tears spilling on to her porcelain cheeks.

_"Help me Mommy." _She cried.

She had started shaking again, her breathing coming in short gasps.

"Aiden?" Mollie questioned seeing her sudden demeanor change.

Aiden closed her eyes watching the scene play out before her before she spoke.

"You'll never know how glad I am that I survived all of this so that you wouldn't have Alex and my baby to yourself." she stopped opening her watery, sunset eyes, "I am so sorry that I pulled you into this mess and gave you the opportunity to do what you did. I shouldn't have done that, but I forgive you because if I don't I'll be bitter and resentful just like you."

Mollie turned her head sideways and lifted one shoulder, "For a half ass attempt that didn't completely suck."

Aiden was fighting the urge to scream at Mollie to give her her child and to never touch her again. The visions were making her paranoid and she was fighting the delusions.

"I would really like to try to be friends with you Mollie." she said.

Mollie snorted, "That's never gonna happen."

Aiden sighed, "Okaaayyy….fine, but can we at least have a truce until I'm feeling a little better please. You're a really stressful person and for right now I'm asking you to please just wait until I'm out of the woods with this and then you can continue to hate me."

"Ohhh….I get to know what it feels like to be you? I get to know what it feels like to be a selfless little saint?" Mollie mocked, batting her eyelashes.

Aiden heaved out an angry breath, "If that's how you want to look at it."

She smiled down at Lexie, "Fine, but once you're feeling better all bets are off, deal?"

Aiden gritted her teeth as she glared at Mollie, "Deal."

* * *

_**Demi, my dahling, I hope you enjoyed it :) **_

_**Please review...next chapter is when Chris and Alex finally have their talk...that should be interesting!**_


	37. Conversations

_**Thanks goes to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho, HurricanHelmsSexyBiatchKelis, and the wonderful SILENTMUSINGS (for the best, most in depth review I have ever received! xoxo) Thanks to you! Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

Alex was on his third plate at the breakfast buffet they had decided to go to.

"Packing' it in eh?" Petey observed with a smirk.

He looked up, "I barely ate anything at the hospital. I couldn't with Aiden being sick."

"It's a miracle she's back with us. We've definitely got a lot to be thankful for." James said.

Alex nodded as he took a bite of eggs. Chris sat in the corner watching Alex pensively. He was waiting for the best opportunity to bring Ajay up to him. He though about discussing the topic in private but it was irking him too much to wait.

He speared an orange slice with his fork before gathering up the courage to say something, "So, what did you say to Ajay when she was leaving?"

"I told her that I was still angry with her because of what she had done." he said dismissively.

"Is that it?" Chris pressed.

Alex ran his tongue along his teeth, "Why do you ask?"

Chris glanced at Petey and James whose faces were unreadable, "She left to go pick up the kids from Gran's and was really upset after she talked to you."

Alex shrugged, "She should be. I'm not going to downplay what she did to spare her feelings."

"She feels terrible and responsible for what she did." Chris told him.

Alex took a sip of juice, "She should. Every time I think about what she did and how Aiden suffered because of it, I could seriously go ballistic."

Chris clenched his fists. Alex' nonchalant attitude towards Ajay's feelings was quickly pissing him off.

"She felt guilty already. You didn't have to make it worse." he griped.

"I disagree." Alex said with a smirk.

Chris dropped his fork with a loud clatter, "Don't do that alright? Don't sit there and smirk about making Ajay feel like shit."

Alex couldn't help the cocky grin that spread across his face, "I really couldn't care less about her feelings. That's like at the bottom of my list of priorities right now."

"Well you understand why I'm upset right? I would never talk to Aiden the way you did to Ajay." Chris said.

"You're damn right you wouldn't. I'd knock your head off your shoulders." Alex retorted.

"So how is it different? Why are you allowed to talk and treat Ajay like shit?" Chris questioned.

"Well, lets see here…Ajay totally disregarded Aiden's health and the fact that she was having a difficult pregnancy all because of her stupid insecurities." Alex pointed out sarcastically.

"She tries very hard to not let that affect her. You know about her abandonment issues. She couldn't help that she felt threatened and reacted." Petey interjected.

Alex shrugged again, "That's not my problem. Maybe Chris should have cheated on her in the first place."

Chris stood up defensively, he was beyond pissed at that point, "Who the fuck are you to say anything about my relationship with Ajay? You're the fucking poster boy for infidelity."

Alex nodded, "Yeah, and I have to live with that everyday, don't I? I have to look in the mirror knowing what I did to Aiden and how bad I hurt her. If it wasn't for Savannah I wouldn't have gotten through sitting by Aiden's bedside knowing I was partially responsible for her being there. See, that's the difference. I take responsibility for my actions. I don't walk around and blame everybody because of what I've done and what's happened to me. She was irresponsible at the worst possible moment and I don't know if I can forgive her for that."

"Didn't Aiden forgive her though?" James asked.

"That's her, not me. If I have to be the asshole to protect her and my child then so be it." Alex said.

"I feel the same way. I don't want you to treat Ajay like you have been that's not fair." Chris said.

"Fair?" Alex laughed, "All of you see this situation totally differently than I do. You see Ajay as this poor little lost soul who made an innocent mistake and now wants to be forgiven because she see the error in her ways. Now she's the victim and I'm the bad guy for protecting my family."

"How do you see it then?" Petey questioned.

"I see it like this, my sweet wife trusted Ajay to be her friend and stand by her and when she unknowingly set Ajay off, she almost paid the ultimate price for nothing." Alex explained.

"It wasn't nothing to Ajay." Chris added.

"That's not the fucking point! The fact of the matter is that I would have lost Aiden and possibly Savannah. I really don't understand how that doesn't trump Ajay's fucking feelings. I hope none of you ever have to sit by your wife's side praying she doesn't die so you won't have to raise your baby alone. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Alex said.

Chris sighed, "What about Ajay then? I think we both share the need to protect our families."

"I guess she needs to either develop thicker skin or stay the hell away from Aiden and Savannah for awhile. Honestly, I don't want her anywhere near Aiden, not after what she did to her. I don't care how sorry she is." Alex admitted.

"She's not going to want to do that. She'll want to catch up and spend time with Aiden. That's her way of trying to make it up to her." Petey said.

"Then she's going to have to deal because I'm not backing down from this." Alex said flippantly.

Chris rolled his eyes, "This is bullshit! What if I told you that I was going to act that way towards Aiden?"

Alex shrugged, "Then I'd kick your ass if you upset her."

"What if she did the things Ajay did and I decided I should punish her the way you're doing with Ajay?" he shot back.

"Aiden would never do the things Ajay did. Don't fucking kid yourself, she couldn't be that big of a bitch no matter how hard she tried." Alex said.

"I'm done talking about this for now. You need to watch it Lex, you're very close to crossing the line with me." Chris warned throwing a couple of dollars on the table for the tip.

"Ajay crossed the line with me, so I get what you mean. My first priority is my family and I'm not going to waiver on that, not even for my best friend. My girls come first, end of story." Alex said going outside to the car.

"That went really well." James muttered sarcastically.

* * *

The drive back to the hospital was silent. Alex rushed to Aiden's room stopping at the door seeing that Mollie was holding his sleeping daughter and Aiden was awake and shaking on the bed.

He went to her first, sitting on beside her, "Are you okay? Your numbers are a little higher than they have been."

She closed her eyes, "I'm a little tired. I've been trying to stay awake until you got back."

He glared at Mollie, "You were supposed to call me when she woke up."

"She said she was fine, and besides I had my hands full." She motioned at Savannah.

He got up and sat in the chair beside her looking down at the sleeping infant, "Was she okay? Did she cry?"

Mollie smiled, "Just a little. She's an attention hog like her daddy."

She nudged him with her shoulder as he put his arm around her. He always knew how to make her forget that she was angry with him, with even the littlest gestures. Aiden glanced over at them forcing herself not to scream at Mollie to let go of her child.

"_That could have been a reality…"_ A sinister voice whispered in her head.

She bit her lip painfully, trying to stifle her tears.

A small knock on the door was heard as a nurse came in the room, "Miss Savannah needs to come down to the nursery for her final exam before she goes home."

Alex stood up.

"Here you take her." Mollie said standing up too.

"We'll go together, if you want. I don't know how I'll do by myself." he admitted.

She forgot her anger completely and went outside in the hall.

"We'll be right back." he smiled at Aiden.

She nodded quickly, her fake smile faltering. He kissed her forehead and went out into the hall with Mollie and the nurse.

When the door closed she coughed out a sob and leaned forward to rest her head on her knees. She ignored the pain in her abdomen. She was quivering in fear of the flashing pictures in her head. She could see the nurse with the wretched mouth handling her daughter and then returning her to Mollie's arms.

Aiden pinched her eyes shut as the vision took over her brain. They all looked up at her with eerie smiles.

Blood trickled out of the nurse's mouth, _"Isn't she beautiful?"_

She was shaking her head trying to disperse the awful scene before her. Thankfully a knock on the door made the image disappear.

Chris poked his head in with a half smile, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She sniffed and wiped her eyes, plastering on a fake smile as she nodded.

He sat on the bed frowning at her, "Are you in pain? What's wrong?"

She looked down, her shaking hands coming up to cover her face.

He took both of her hands into his, "Aiden, talk to me."

"Everything has just kind of hit me and I got a little overwhelmed." She said.

"If you need to talk about it, you know I'm here for you anytime." he encouraged.

She faltered through a smile, "No, I'm just being emotional."

He kissed the backs of her hands, everything about him was so endearing to her, "I have a favor to ask."

"Sure." she smiled.

He glanced up at the monitor to check her vitals.

"Don't do that." She sighed, "Alex does that all the time and it makes me nervous."

His blue eyes shifted back to her face, "Sorry."

She shook her head waiting for him to continue.

"I really don't mean to put you in the middle of this, but you're the only person that can help me.'

She squeezed his hands, "What do you need Chris? You know I don't mind."

He frowned again, "Alex is still really upset with Ajay for what she did to you."

"I know, it wasn't her fault though. I put myself in an impossible situation, I have no one to blame but myself." she told him.

"Aiden, you know Ajay is partially to blame for this. Everybody does including her. I'm not trying to excuse what she did by any means, but I know Ajay. When she gets back from Gran's she's going to want to go back to the way things were before all of this. She's going to want to be by your side, and talk to you and hang out." He explained.

She smiled then, "That's fine with me, I want that too. I want to forget this ever happened, except for having Savannah of course."

He chuckled, "I would love to be as optimistic as you, but you can't just sweep this under the rug. We almost lost you forever, that's not something we can forget, those emotions don't just disappear."

"I know that, but I don't want everybody to just sit around blaming each other either. I just want to be normal again." she whispered, her eyes welling up.

He cupped her cheek gently, "Please don't cry."

She inhaled a shaky breath, "So what was this favor you were talking about?"

He looked down at their clasped hands, "If its not too much trouble will you please kind of look after Ajay when she gets back? She's been so hard on herself and Alex has really been making it worse. I'm not asking him to forgive her, just that he doesn't kick her while she's down for Joey and Kenzie's sake."

"Chris, you know I wouldn't let that happen. She was there for me countless times before our misunderstanding. I definitely owe her." She said, tears escaping her eyes.

He shook his head with a lopsided grin as he wiped her tears away, "How do you do that Aiden? I'm still a little mad at her myself and here you have completely forgiven her."

She laughed, holding her stomach to prevent her staples and stitches from moving too much, "Like I said, I'm ready to be normal again."

"Thank you." he said pulling her into his arms for a hug.

The door opened and Alex walked in trying to shush his screaming daughter.

Aiden immediately turned her attention to Alex, "What's wrong with her?"

Mollie grinned, wiping Savannah's eyes some, "She had some blood drawn and wasn't very happy about it. This is what Alex looked like while they were doing it as a matter of fact."

"Whatever, I told you it was hot in there and my eyes were sweating." Alex muttered.

Aiden held her arms out signaling him to bring their daughter to her.

He handed her off with ease.

Mollie punched him in the shoulder.

"It was very cute that your eyes were sweating. Having two daughters must have finally softened you up some."

He grabbed her in a headlock and bent her backwards playfully. Aiden gritted her teeth determined to remain focused on Savannah.

"Good news! The doctor said that as long as your tests and next check up go well we get to bust out of this joint and go home." he said excitedly, still holding Mollie in the Dragon Sleeper.

"That's good new." she said softly.

"Let me go. Let's go get some coffee." Mollie whined hitting Alex arms.

He let her up ducking out of the way when she swung at him, "We'll be right back. Did you want anything?"

She shook her head no, not looking up from her daughter's cherub face. They left again.

Chris turned to her with a big smile, "You finally get to get out of here."

She smiled too, "Yeah, finally."

"_More importantly I get to get Alex and Savannah away from Mollie." she added silently._

* * *

**So, I've been playing around with an idea for a spin off of this dealing with Aiden's "post coma issues" let me know if that's something you would be interested in reading :) Thanks!**


	38. You Can't Always Go Home

_**Next chapter for my lovelies :) Not entirely pleased with it, but I do have some more drama cooking up! Enjoy!**_

* * *

"This is freaking me out. I don't want to put her in there." Alex frowned.

They had stayed in the hospital one more night due to Aiden's blood pressure spike when Mollie had confronted her. After another night of observation she was finally cleared to leave.

Aiden winced as she gingerly sat down in the wheelchair, "She'll be fine Lex. We can't drive home without her in it."

Alex chewed on his lip, glaring at the top of the line car seat, "I can't do it Aiden. I can't put her in that thing. She's used to us holding her, it's just wrong for her to go in there."

Aiden sighed, "Hand her to me, I'll do it."

After successfully prying their daughter away from him and buckling her into the car seat they made their way to the parking garage. Chris was the only one waiting on them.

"I just wanted to see you off." he smiled at Aiden.

"That was sweet of you." she said.

"That wasn't exactly the face I pictured you making Lex." Chris said noticing his friend's look of concern.

"I guess I'm in shock that we're actually leaving. There was a time I thought we would never get out of there." he answered.

Chris smirked, "I can follow you home if you need me to."

"Would you? I don't want any asshole pushing us down the road or riding to close or whatever. Do you know if Lexus has a five star safety rating or not?"

Chris shrugged, "No idea."

"Wonder if we have side air bags, the manual is in the glove compartment right babe, I'll check it out when we get down there." he muttered to himself.

Chris held in his laughter until Alex had walked to the elevator.

"He's been like that all morning." Aiden laughed.

"I was the same way, so I can't really knock him." Chris said leaning down to kiss her cheek, "How are you doing this morning?"

"Very sore, but very excited too." she smiled.

"Ajay is going to be home today and she wanted to know if it was alright if she came over later to see you." Chris said as they got onto the elevator.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Aiden's going to be tired and we don't know how Savannah's going to do being in a new environment." Alex interjected.

Aiden rolled her eyes, "She's more than welcome to come over Chris."

He ignored Alex's indignant huff, "She didn't even get to see the baby last time because she was so upset."

She squeezed his hand, a silent assurance that she would make sure to keep Alex from being too hard on her. Chris helped Aiden into the backseat beside Savannah who was somehow still asleep through Alex's twenty minute check list and YouTube demonstration to make sure the car seat was securely fastened.

"It's freezing honey. She's in here just fine." Aiden whined, fixing the blanket on her daughter.

Alex glanced up, "I've got the heat on full blast babe."

"Yeah, but the door is open." she countered.

"This is kinda important okay sweetheart? Just be patient." he dismissed.

"Chris can Savannah and I ride with you?" Aiden asked gingerly easing back toward the car door.

Alex growled, "Shit! I'm just making usre this is right! You're not riding with him, he drives like a maniac and there's no room."

Chris scoffed, "I do not! I've had Joey and Kenzie in there before!"

"Ummm...no." Alex answered looking back at the instructions that came with the car seat.

"Alex!" Aiden said crossly.

"Fine!" he yelled back closing the door and getting behind the wheel.

By the time they pulled into the drive Alex's brow was covered in perspiration.

"Finally." Aiden remarked.

She was completely exhausted. Chris came to Aiden's side to help her out. She walked up the stairs into the house.

"If this is what it feels like after you wrestle then I feel sorry for you." she whimpered laying down on the couch.

"Are you comfortable?" Chris asked covering her up.

She nodded, her eyes already closed.

Alex had put Savannah into her swing and was standing over her watching her sway gently back and forth.

"Hey, man I'm gonna head out." Chris called softly.

Alex wiped at his eyes roughly, "Yeah, okay. Thanks for following us home."

"No problem, but can you return the favor and not be so hard on Ajay when she comes over?" he asked.

Alex put his hands on his hips and looked up, his childish side coming out a little, "I'll try really hard, that's the best I can do."

Satisfied whit his answer Chris hurried home to wait for Ajay to arrive.

* * *

Bailey stood in her kitchen performing her daily routine of making Riley breakfast and the twins' formula. While she had her children for company and love, she was severely lacking without Petey there. She felt isolated because all of her phone calls to him, Ajay, Alex and Mollie had been ignored. She hadn't heard so much as a peep from anyone.

What was worse was that Riley had begun asking questions. Where was Petey, he was supposed to take her ice skating? Where was Daddy, he usually called her everyday. How could she look her daughter in the face and explain that because of her actions and feeling no one was keeping their prior commitments. It wasn't fair to Riley but how could she explain all of this to a five year old?

She was depressed, but was thankful she had her kids to keep her motivated. Without them she didn't know what she would do. She heard the garage door open while she was changing the twins. Her heart jumped up to her throat.

Was he really home?

"Petey!" Riley yelled from the the kitchen.

"Hey sweetheart, I missed you so much!" he replied.

Bailey couldn't move, she was frozen in place by guilt and happiness. Riley came zooming past her in the living room and ran upstairs.

Petey came around the corner and went to the twins.

He picked Jayden up, "I missed the two of you. Did you miss me?"

He kissed them both and finally looked at Bailey, "I need to get them packed because I want to take them with me to go visit my mom for a little while."

"B-Both of them?" she stuttered.

"Yes, and Alex wants Riley to come stay with him for a few days." he said with no emotion.

"He couldn't call and ask himself?" Bailey asked tearing up as she pulled Ajay Marie's shirt over her head.

He chuckled under his breath, "He doesn't want to talk to you Bay, nobody does. Didn't really figure that into your plan did you?"

"Petey, don't be so mean, I told you how sorry I was. I don't want to lose you." she cried.

"You're a joke you know that? Don't be _mean_? How can I even hold a candle next to you and what you've done? You know you'll never have Alex, so you're thinkning you're gonna settle for second best yet again? To be honest you might not even have that option anymore, so think before you speak okay?" he shot back.

"I do love you, I swear I do. I wouldn't have had kids with you if I didn't. I'm just confused..." she sobbed.

"Confused, delusional, deranged, a liar, you're a lot of things right now Bay and none of them include me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not have you in my life even after everything you did? I feel about you the way you feel about Alex. Even now, I can't let go, you don't know how infuriating and embarrassing that is. You brought me to my knees and now I'm begging you to not ruin our life. Think long and hard about what you want because this is it. I'm leaving to decide what I want, whether I want to take you back or not and you should do the same."

He went upstairs to get the twins all packed up while Bailey remained on the couch crying. She was losing everything.

When had she stopped loving Petey as much as she had in the beginning? When had she become this person?

He came back downstairs with two bags and Riley right behind him. She went to her mother and jumped into her arms.

"I love you mommy. Petey said that I'm a big sister _again_! Daddy and A-Ten have a baby now too!" she said excitedly.

"When did she have the baby?" Bailey asked as more tears sprung up.

He picked up both car seats and went to the garage without answering her question. He buckled them all in.

"Petey wait please, just wait. You can't just take them. They've never been away from me." she cried going to the passenger door to look at her kids.

"We all might have to get used to being apart from one another. You can thank yourself for that. We need to get on the road. Say goodbye so we can leave." he said sternly.

She leaned down to kiss both twins and covered them up better.

"Riley give Mommy a kiss." she cried trying to hold it together in front of her

She pecked her lips and hugged her neck.

"See ya when we see ya I guess." he muttered before she closed the door.

She hugged herself watching them pull out of the snowy drive. How was she ever going to survive now? She went back in the house and sat in Riley's room with Jayden and Ajay Marie's favorite stuffed animals and broke down. She was completely alone now. She didn't even have her kids with her anymore. An even deeper, darker depression was settling in now and she knew she wouldn't be able to endure by herself.

* * *

Alex went to the door after hearing the doorbell. Ajay was on the doorstep looking like she wanted to take off back to her car at any second.

He stepped aside with no greeting whatsoever. She hesitantly stepped inside.

"Aiden's in the living room. Good thing Savannah was up for her bottle, you know newborns and doorbells don't really mix." he added rudely.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

"Whatever." he dismissed, going back into his game room.

Ajay looked around at the house seeing touches of Aiden everywhere. She knew she would have never been able to visit Alex if Aiden hadn't made it. She slowly went into the living room. Aiden was sitting cross legged on the couch with Savannah on her shoulder.

"Oh my goodness, hi!" Aiden beamed.

Ajay smiled back, "Hey, you look like you've got the hang of everything."

She was thrilled inside that Aiden was able to be a mother.

Aiden had her cheek pressed against Savannah's, "She's the sweetest little thing. She never cries, she's always happy."

Ajay smiled shyly, "Can I see her?"

"Sure." Aiden said.

She sat down beside Aiden who handed off the baby to her best friend. The little girl blinked her beautiful eyes at Ajay as she stared up at her. She smoothed her hand over the crown of her head, her soft dark hair caressing her fingertips. The baby closed her eyes like she would fall asleep.

"She loves that." Aiden smiled, "I think she likes her Aunt Ajay."

"She's precious Aiden." Ajay whispered through her tears.

"I'm so thankful everyday that I get to spend with her and Alex." Aiden said.

"Yeah, especially when it was almost my fault that you didn't get to." Ajay frowned, "I'm so sorry, I wish I could make it up to you somehow."

"It's over with now. I want you to stop beating yourself up." she told her.

"I can't, I just can't. When I think I can forgive myself I think about..." she paused biting her lip.

"Ajay don't." Aiden pleaded.

"About the day you came over after I got released from the hospital...and I was so hurtful and mean to you. I didn't even care that you were crying and sick. I WANTED you to be. I wanted you to hurt because in my stupid fucked up head you had hurt me." she was crying uncontrollably now.

She got up to place the sleeping baby in her bouncer and went back to fall into Aiden's arms. She held her so she could let go of her emotions, so she could let go of some of her guilt.

"I was never mad at you, I just missed you." Aiden said quietly.

"What did you do when you were by yourself?" Ajay asked.

"Slept and cried mostly, but I don't want to talk about that." Aiden said shaking her head.

"So what am I doing to do about Alex? Think he'll ever forgive me?" Ajay changed the subject.

"I think he will he's jsut so stubborn about some things, you know?" Aiden said, "Do you want to try and talk to him some while i'm here with you?"

She took a deep breath, "It's now or never right?"

"Alex?" Aiden called.

"Yeah?" he called fromt he other room.

"Will you please come here?" She asked.

He came in stretching and yawning moments later. He peeked over at Savannah with a smile before sitting down, "What's up?"

"I wanted to try and work through our problems if you don't mind."

Alex rolled his eyes, "And if I do?"

Aiden pouted, "Please don't be mean. Just listen for me okay?"

He clenched his jaw and gripped the seat railings, "Fine."

"Alex you know how sorry I am. If I could take it all back I would in a heartbeat. I'm so ashamed of the way I acted and treated her. I'll always regret this mistake the most, I'm sure of it, but I have to be able to forgive myself the way Cookie has forgiven me. If I don't my marriage and children will suffer. I've been a wreck the entire time I was at Grans, and I know I've got to move forward." she said really hoping she would be able to get through to him.

He shrugged his shoulders with a sarcastic smirk, "So because Aiden fogave you, you took your little time out and shit, I'm supposed to be okay with everything too?"

Ajay's face showed her doubt but she was determined more than anything, "Alex, I don't want to argue and fight with you. It kills me that we aren't joking around and annoying each other the way we used to. I miss you."

"I don't like being a dick to you either but I don't want Aiden to be hurt again or suffer because I wasn't cautious. i protect them the same way Chris protects you, Joey, and Kenzie." he said.

"I know you want to protect them, I know that. Just tell me what I have to do to make this right?" she begged.

Alex closed his eyes, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "You didn't see the effect your choice had on Aiden those last few months. YOu didn't come home and fine her blacked out, you didn't beg her to eat knowing it would make her sick later, you didn't go to sleep terrified that she or the baby wouldnt make it through the night. You weren't flying to Orlando thinnking that everything was taken care of, that she was safe and would be able to make it because she had her best friend with her. You weren't lied to Ajay."

"I didn't tell you the truth either Alex." Aiden interjected on Ajay's behalf.

"That's not the point, you shouldn't have hgad to tell me anything. She needs to understand why i'm not letting this go." he said.

Aiden looked over at Ajay who was crying again.

She took her hand to comfort her.

"He's right. I do need to hear this." she sniffled.

Alex blew out a breath, "I miss you too ya punk. I'm not exactly over all of this yet but i'm working on it okay? That's the best I can do right now."

Aiden broke into a smile and carefully go up to sit in his lap and hug him.

"I love you!" she said excitedly, "Thank you for putting forth the effort and being sweet."

"Yeah, yeah. I got a reputation to maintain babe, people cant hear you saying I'm sweet." he teased, kissing her again.

"Thank you Alex. That's more than what I expected." Ajay said wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

Savannah let out a tiny wail, waking up from her short nap.

"Can I?" Ajay asked going to the seat.

She carefully picked up the baby and sat down on the couch.

"Does she smile like this all the time?" Ajay laughed.

"Pretty much. She looks like me and has Aiden's personality, which is probably a good thing. I was a pretty annoying kid from what I heard." Alex replied.

"You're an annoying adult too." Ajay shot back before she realized, "Sorry, old habits die hard."

Alex chuckled, "It's okay. I missed our usual back and forth comebacks."

Ajay smiled down at Savannah, "You need a nickname little baby. Savannah's too long and you aren't a part of the crew until i've given you a nickname. What could your's be? My baby is Mackenzie, but we call her Kenzie...I've got it! You can be Lexie!"

"Aww, I never thought of that! Like her daddy, Lex and Lexie, I love it!" Aiden squealed.

"I like Savannah." Alex disagreed, "Its proper and distinguished and regal sounding."

"Lexie's cute too though, it's girly just like her." Aiden argued.

"Lets ask the baby then." Ajay suggested, "Sweet baby angel, do you want us to call you Savannah, your given name where Mommy's from?"

They waited for a response.

"She stuck out her tongue." Ajay announced, "What about Lexie, do you like that name?"

Savannah let out a tiny squeak as she kicked her legs.

Aiden laughed, "The baby has spoken."

Alex shook his head, "You disappointed daddy already."  
"Alex!" Aiden said hitting him in the chest, "Don't say that!"

"I'm just kidding, seriously I'm kidding. Lexie's fine with me, I think its cute too."

"I'll be right back I've got to grab my phone." Ajay said handing Lexie to Aiden

As she walked back to the living room she put Chris on speaker phone.

"Okay, Chris and I have been wanting to ask both of you a question." Ajay said, lighting up.

"We were going to do it sooner, but we didn't get the chance." He explained on the other line.

"We talked about this and both of you were the only ones that we felt comfortable asking." Ajay said.

"What is it?" Aiden questioned, looking between Ajay and Alex.

"Will you be Kenzie's godparents?"


	39. Knock, Knock

_**Thanks to Alice Jericho and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for reviewing! This chapter is short for me...enjoy anyways :)**_

* * *

Aiden looked from Ajay to Alex and back again, "Both of us?"

She nodded with a smile.

"Of course, we would love too. That is so awesome that you asked us." she started crying, "This makes me so happy."

"Cookie…" Ajay smiled going to hug her, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"What about you Alex, are you okay with this?" Chris questioned.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just shocked that you would ask me after everything we've been dealing with." he said.

"None of that ever changed my mind Lex. You protect and defend your family, why wouldn't I want that for my daughter?" Ajay asked.

He stared at Ajay for a moment, "Thank you, it really is an honor. I never thought I would ever have this much responsibility."

She went to him and tentatively hugged him too.

"Babe, I gotta go change Kenzie, I'll see you when you get home, okay?" Chris called.

"Okay." she said hanging up the phone, "Thank you Alex and Aiden for agreeing to this. Almost losing you really put a lot of things into perspective."

"I understand." Aiden smiled, kissing Lexie's forehead.

The doorbell rang again, startling Lexie who looked around warily. Ajay went to the door.

"Aunt Ajay." Riley greeted, hugging her legs.

"Hey Riley, did you come to meet your new baby sister?" she asked.

Riley nodded excitedly.

"She looks just like you, and she's so sweet too. Your daddy is in there, go ahead." Ajay said turning back to Petey, "Did you want to come in?"

"Just for a minute, let me go get the twins." he gave in.

He wanted to talk to them, he wanted someone to sympathize with him, and he wanted advice because he had no idea what he was going to do. He came back inside with both car seats and followed Ajay into the living room. Riley was sitting on the couch holding Savannah carefully.

Aiden was snapping pictures of Alex with his daughters, "It is crazy how much they look alike."

"It really is. They look just like their daddy." Ajay admired.

Alex smirked, "What do you expect? I'm too hot to not make cute babies."

"And there's the ego we all know and love too." Ajay teased.

Alex took Savannah from Riley because she was getting fussy, "So do you like your new baby sister?"

She nodded kissing Savannah's forehead, "She's pretty daddy, like A-Ten, not you."

He sat back in mild shock, "So baby Lexie is pretty because of Aiden and not me?"

She giggled and nodded.

"Well how did you get so pretty then?" he asked

"From Mommy." she replied.

"I see how it is." he laughed, "Be careful baby, Aiden's got a boo boo."

Riley stopped right in front of Aiden with a frown. She always climbed into Aiden's lap.

"You can sit beside me." she said scooting over.

Riley held her arms up for a hug.

Aiden hugged her tightly, "I missed you.

"I missed you too." she smiled going to go play in her room.

"You look great." Petey smiled kissing her cheek.

"Thank you." she said, "How are you doing?"

He sat down looking at the ground, "Scared, sad, sick frustrated, I'm a lot of things right now."

"Because of seeing Bailey?" Ajay guessed.

His eyes filled with tears as he stared at the coffee table, "She was barely hanging on, just going through the motions, and I couldn't bring myself to reach out to her. I was so angry when I saw her and I jut wanted to get the kids and go, and now I feel bad, like maybe I should go back and check on her."

"Hell no!" Alex and Ajay said at the same time.

"After everything she's done to you, there's no way I would let her get off that easily." Alex glared.

"You forgave Ajay somehow." Petey shot back.

"I'm not the love of his life that is hung up on her best friend." Ajay said, "Bailey is totally wrong for what she's done to you."

"I told her that we both needed to think about our relationship. Whether we both wanted to stay and work things out together or not." he said putting his face in his hands.

"What did she say?' Alex asked.

"Nothing. She didn't say anything. She asked why you hadn't called to tell her you wanted Riley, and I told her that Aiden had the baby and that nobody really wanted to talk to her." he groaned into his hands.

Alex scoffed, "It's the truth, sorry if she doesn't like it."

Petey looked at Aiden then, noticing how quiet she was, "What about you, what do you think?

She was fiddling with her hands nervously, "I just don't think it's fair for everyone to gang up on her. Just like it wasn't Ajay's fault for what happened to me, it really wasn't her fault either. We were always afraid of her reaction, that's why we hid everything. Remember when I told you that I was pregnant, your first reaction was, '_Oh my God, how am I going to tell Bailey?_' She got everything thrown at her at once, and didn't know how to handle it."

Alex and Ajay stared at her with their mouths agape.

"I know your understanding, forgiving, and a little bit naïve sometimes, but isn't this a little far fetched? She planned to break us up. It didn't just happen, she _planned_ it Aiden." Alex finally said.

Ajay agreed, "Honey, she wouldn't think twice about hurting you to get Alex back. Look what she's doing to Petey."

"I know, I know, but it's just not sitting well with me. Bailey is a sweet girl, I just know she is. She wouldn't just _intentionally_ hurt people, who does that? She wouldn't throw her family away because of a crush she has on Alex." Aiden argued.

"Its not just a crush, she _loves_ Alex." Petey sighed, "Why should I even bother. I mean how stupid do I sound, my wife loves another man and I still want to be with her."

"I'm sorry man. I really never knew she felt this way or would take it this far. I'm sorry that she's hurting you to try to get to me." Alex said quietly.

"I even told her that you would never leave Aiden for her, but it was like she didn't even care, you know." Petey stated staring off into the distance.

"Pan, just take some time to think things through. That's really all you can do. She knows you love her. It's up to her to decide if she's going to be an idiot and let you go." Ajay frowned.

She hated the fact that Petey was suffering.

"Don't give up on her yet." Aiden blurted out.

All eyes turned to her.

Alex's face went stoic, "I know you try to find the best in everyone, and I love that about you, but I want you to stay out of this okay?"

"Cookie, he's right, don't get involved, I don't think it would be good for you to get worked up about this. It would make all of us breathe a little easier." Ajay said patting her hand like she was a child.

"I'm going to put her up in the nursery. Just put this out of your mind sweetheart, okay? Whatever decision you make you know we'll support you man." Alex said standing up.

"Thanks." Petey said.

Ajay's phone rang.

"Excuse me." she said going into the next room.

Petey looked at Aiden again, "Always the optimist."

Aiden chewed on her lip. He could tell she was still upset and thinking about his situation.

"Yeah, look where it gets you." She muttered sarcastically.

Petey swallowed thickly as tears fell down his face, "I don't want to give up on her. Alex didn't give up on you and he got you back. Maybe that can happen to me."

She moved closer to him and took his hands in hers, "You know her better than anyone. Does this seem like something she would do?"

He shook his head, "I talked to her mom and she's completely shocked, she had no idea anything was going on."

"She probably didn't want to let her down or worry her." Aiden dismissed.

"She hasn't talked to Bailey in weeks. They used to talk everyday." he informed.

"That doesn't make any sense why she would cut her mom off like that. Do you want me to talk to her?" she offered.

He kissed the backs of her hands, "I don't think that's a good idea. Look how stressed out she mad you the last time. I would be devastated if anything happened to you and so would everybody else. She probably wouldn't talk to you anyways."

"Okay." She smiled half heartedly.

"I'm not giving up on her yet. I can't because our babies don't deserve that." he said.

"If there's anything I can do." she offered, following him to the door.

"Thank you Aiden." he said before going back out into the snow.

She waved at him as he pulled out of the drive. She closed the door a sense of uneasy dread settling into the pit of her stomach.

**

* * *

**

TWO WEEKS LATER

* * *

"So this officially sucks." Alex groaned coming downstairs with his suitcase.

Aiden smirked from the couch, he was finally leaving to head back to work after an extended absence.

"It was your idea for me to stay at home." she reminded him.

"I know. I'm just not ready for you to officially be back to normal. It freaks me out worrying about things that could over excite you, or stress you out too much." he admitted, "And flying you and Savannah down there, and then having to deal with everyone wanting to see our daughter…I just think it would be too much too soon."

She rolled her eyes, "My tests have been completely normal."

"The last one was inconclusive." he retorted.

She sighed heavily. She was so ready for him to allow her to do things for herself and to be normal again. She loved him for worrying about her, but she was an adult. A semi-independent one at that.

"Chris and Ajay are here." he announced.

Aiden pouted, "Chris lets Ajay and Kenzie go with him."

"Ajay's not you honey, and Kenzie's almost four months old, not one." he said, "Are you sure you're going to be okay here by yourself?"

"Yes, I'll be fine." She said for the hundredth time that morning."I'm not entirely sure we'll be able to leave anyways, this snow storm sucks." he said pulling up his hoodie.

"Hey Aiden." Chris called coming to get Alex's bags for him.

She waved at him as Alex knelt down in front of her. Lexie was awake and smiled when she saw her father.

"You're so beautiful, you know that? You turn daddy into mush when he looks at you." he smiled.

She blew out a tiny breath and kicked her feet playfully as her nose scrunched up like her mothers. His heart swelled up in his chest at his beloved daughter.

He kissed her several times then Aiden as well, "I love you so much. Two days without my girls are going to be torture."

"We'll be here when you get back." she smiled, "And we love you too. Be careful and hurry home."

They heard the horn honk from outside. He kissed her again with a sad smirk as he left.

Aiden looked down at Lexie, "You're sleepy already? Daddy just left and we can actually sneak out of the house and go shopping and you want to take a nap?"

Her big brown eyes blinked slowly until they closed completely. Aiden slipped off her headband and raised the sleeping infant to her shoulder. She went to her Paris themed nursery and gently laid her down in her crib. She blinked her eyes a few more times before settling back to sleep.

Aiden smiled and turned on the baby monitor, "Cute little party pooper."

Just as she closed the nursery door, the doorbell rang. Her brow furrowed, she wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe Alex had forgotten his keys. She pulled her sweater coat closed as she opened the door.

She gasped, whether it was from the icy blast that blew in or from the unexpected visitor on her doorstep, one couldn't be sure.

Fear captured her senses as she tried desperately to act normal, "What are you doing here?"

* * *

_**Dun, dun, dunnnn! Who is it? Let me hear some guesses! xoxo**_


	40. Across The Street

_**For BourneBetter67 because as the Miz would say..."She's AWESOME!"**_

* * *

Bailey was standing on the doorstep looking completely disheveled. She was pale and gaunt; her eyes were red and had dark circles beneath them. She looked like she hadn't slept or eaten in days. Her lips were chalky and the too large sweatshirt and pants looked like they were hanging on a hanger.

When she didn't respond Aiden offered an answer to her own question, "Umm, Alex isn't here."

"I saw him leave." she said her voice scratchy and barely above a whisper.

Aiden's stomach dropped.

"You want to talk to me?" she squeaked.

Her haggard blue eyes bored through her indicating she did. She timidly stepped aside and let Bailey in. Chills raced up and down her spine as she floated past like a ghost. Bailey was wandering around aimlessly like she was touring a museum. She would stop and run her fingers along the tables and chairs, caressing the fabric of the couches and curtains. She went into the kitchen, stopping to peruse the pictures on the refrigerator. Sonograms that had been kept hidden for eight months were now proudly on display. Tiny pink hand and foot prints were in a magnetized frame with Savannah's name written in delicate calligraphy beneath. She peered into the antique china cabinet that had been passed along through Aiden's family being filed with valuable crystal and china pieces. She slowly went down the hall, examining every picture in every frame. Alex and Aiden's brief life together were chronicled on the walls. Several pictures from their dates were accompanied with ticket stubs or little mementos that were unique and held meaning for the happy couple. They were all candid shots taken by the other or held away to get them both in the picture. The last two brought tears to her eyes. The first picture was of Aiden swathed in a white sheet her pregnant belly exposed with little baby blocks perched on top. A+A= Her face was serene, filled with joy when Alex snapped the picture. She could almost hear him cracking a joke to get her to laugh.

The next ripped at her soul. Aiden had taken the picture. She was looking down her torso at Alex who was kissing her stomach and looking up at the camera. The look in his eyes, the pride and happiness…the love.

She forced herself to move on and tear herself away from the picture. She could honestly stare at it, at him forever.

She finally went back into the living room and sat down.

Aiden stood by unsure of what to do next, "Did you want something to drink?"

Bailey shook her head still looking around like she'd never been here before. Aiden sat in the leather chair watching Bailey carefully.

"You know I could have lived here. He asked me to move in with him before I left for two years. I knew I was pregnant and made the decision not to tell him." she remembered, "When I left, it was a lot different then. The perfect bachelor pad for the world's biggest bachelor."

She laughed as the tears fell.

"He had his mom's old plaid couch that he would throw a sheet over to cover it up. The coffee table was so sticky because he never cleaned it. You could bump into it and never worry about your drink spilling. There used to be carpet too. He would get drunk and name the stains." she paused, turning to point at the far wall, "That was his autograph wall. He and Chris and whoever was over would get inspired and draw all sorts of shit on it. There are probably layers of pen, pencil and Sharpie drawings underneath that paint. Look at this place now. It looks like Martha Stewart came in and remodeled everything. There's no sign of the old Alex anywhere."

Aiden bit her lip, "He said that I could decorate it however I wanted as long as it wasn't too girly."

She rolled her eyes, "This could have been my life. If I would have just told him about Riley would have been different. I wouldn't have suppressed my feelings for him and fallen in love with Petey. He would have bumped into you, bought you another cup of coffee and come home to me asking if I could get the stain out of his shirt."

"Things didn't happen like that for a reason Bailey." she said softly.

"You think I don't know that! The entire universe had to shift and rotate off its axis so that you two could meet. There was a reason you were brought into my life it was to show me how fucked up mine is. I married and had children with a man I thought I could spend the rest of my life with. I was perfectly happy until you came along and made me realize what was just below the surface the entire time. I never ever imagined the life Alex and I could have had until he started living it with you." she yelled, picking up a pacifier and threw it into the wall, "He's got fucking pink frilly baby accessories everywhere! He never would have agreed to that if I told him about Riley."

"You didn't give him the chance. He didn't have the opportunity to prove you wrong." she said nervously.

She did not like where this conversation was going at all.

"That's all I've been thinking about lately. How I messed up first with Alex and now with Petey. I do love him, I just don't know how." she said her face turning stoic.

It was eerie how she was going back and forth between emotions with hardly any transition. It was making Aiden very uneasy. Bailey pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees, "I knew it was over between Alex and I when he told me how happy he was for Petey and I after I had the twins. Something in his voice sounded so final. It was your wedding day, come to find out."

Aiden stayed silent, Alex had told her about that moment. He told her how free he felt, how he knew he could love her completely because he wasn't hung up on Bailey anymore.

"He let me go to be with you." she smiled sadly.

"He thought you were happy with Petey. There was no need for both of you to hold onto something that wasn't there anymore."

"It doesn't matter. He has you, Petey has the kids. No one needs me." she broke down into sobs again.

"That's not true. Petey isn't giving up on you. He can't not be in love with you. He does want to make your relationship work. He wants to be a family again." she told her, "Your kids need you too Bailey."

"Riley has you, she looks up to you. You're a life size Barbie doll for fuck's sake. Petey will be happy with someone else. I just can't be around you and Alex right now because it kills me." she growled out.

Aiden being the ever positive one tried to focus on the solution, "Is there anything I can do to make this easier? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around us."

"No. There's nothing you can do 'Miss Fix It.' God, have you never been around unhappy people before?" she griped.

"I'm sorry. I just want to help you, Bailey." she frowned.

"Why? I've done nothing but try to tear you and Alex apart, why would you want to help me?" she questioned.

Aiden thought, "You're Riley's mom, for one thing. You were the center of this group of friends for a long time, way before I got here and despite my best efforts I managed to make you feel uncomfortable and threatened, so I guess I feel it's my responsibility to make things right. I don't want you to leave because of me and because of who I love."

"That's just it, though. If it came down to it and everyone had to choose between me and you, they would choose you, hands down." Bailey said, she was crying again.

"That's not true. Mollie definitely wouldn't pick me." Aiden pointed out.

She pondered that for a minute, "Mollie dated Alex, why weren't you threatened by her?"

"Mollie and I were friends before that. I knew they wouldn't stay together; they're just not very compatible on a deeper level. She's too mature for him, always has been. You, I didn't see coming." she said.

Bailey laughed before she started crying again, "I don't have anyone. Nobody will speak to me because of what I've done. Ajay, Petey, Mollie, even Alex won't pick up the phone."

Aiden frowned.

"Please let me help you Bailey. I'll talk to them for you…"

She trailed off hearing Savannah through the monitor, "I'll be right back."

She came back with her daughter who had just woken up.

"Can I hold her? I haven't held mine in almost two weeks." She asked tearfully.

"O-okay." she stammered.

She carefully handed her to Bailey and sat back down.

"She looks just like Riley when she was a baby." Bailey marveled.

Aiden smiled, "That's Alex coming out in both of them."

"Why would you talk to everyone for me? I've done horrible things to you."

Aiden's eyes welled up, "Out of everyone, I always wanted you to like me. I always wanted us to be friends, especially now when we both share our baby's father. I'll help you however I can, Bailey. I don't want you to lose everything and everyone."

Bailey sat staring down at the baby. Her bright auburn eyes watching her.

"Aiden, if things don't work out the way you plan…if everyone still hates me despite your best effort, will you promise me something?" she asked not looking up.

"Yes." Aiden answered.

"Will you please keep Riley with you and Alex? I want her to be around her father and maybe if she hangs around you enough she won't turn out like me." she whispered, her voice cracking.

"Bailey, don't say things like that…" Aiden scolded.

"She looked at her then, her eyes full of desperation, "Promise me? I want her to have two parents that are stable and love one another and if I can't do that I want it to be you and Alex."

"You're not going to leave or something, are you? That would kill Riley if you just left. You're her mother Bailey, she needs you, and so do the twins." Aiden argued.

Bailey closed her eyes, "I'm not going anywhere, just please?"

"I promise." Aiden conceded.

Savannah let out a cry.

"She's probably hungry." Aiden said standing up.

"Here, take her. I'll do it." Bailey stopped her by handing her the baby, "Thank you for trying, Aiden. It means a lot."

She sat back down while Bailey went into the kitchen.

"Aiden?" she called, stopping in the hall to look at the pictures again.

"Yes?" she said.

"Can I have this picture of Alex, the one where he's holding your stomach?" she choked out.

"Sure, if you want it." Aiden replied, thinking the request was a little strange.

Lexie started fussing a little harder after a few minutes.

"Just hold on, baby, she's coming with your bottle." Aiden cooed.

After a few more minutes Aiden became suspicious, "Bailey? Did you need some help?"

When she didn't answer, Aiden's stomach dropped and the hairs on her arms stood up. Her heart pounded in her ears every second of silence. She got up and put Lexie into her swing with her pacifier. She swallowed her fear, tried to repress it so she could see what was wrong. She didn't know what to expect as she turned the corner to the kitchen. Bailey was facing her standing behind the kitchen island with the most peaceful look on her face.

"Bailey?" Aiden called out, her voice shaking due to her fear.

Her eyes opened, glassy and dilated, "I have so many regrets…"

Aiden hugged her tiny frame trying to stop quivering, "What do you mean?"

She slowly raised her right arm that was covered in bright red blood, "I never got to see this look on his face when I was pregnant with Riley. You make him so happy…"

"Bailey! What did you do!" Aiden shrieked, rushing to her.

Her hand flew up to her mouth as she let out a muted scream. She snatched the butcher knife out of Bailey's hand and rushed to the drawer to grab two wash cloths. Her stomach turned seeing the puddle of blood that was rapidly accumulating. She wrapped her wrists tightly, trying to stop the blood flow. Bailey pushed her away, dropping her shoulder and shoving her into the refrigerator. Aiden struggled to breathe; her chest was on fire from the combination of Bailey's shoulder and having the breath knocked out of her. She recovered quickly and hit the panic button to the alarm system. Help would arrive shortly; she just hoped it wasn't too late. She went back to Bailey, determined to help her.

She wrapped her wrists again through her terrified tears, "What were you thinking? How could you be so selfish?"

"You promised…" she reminded faintly, her knees going weak and giving out on her.

"I'm not going to have to keep any promises because you're not going to die. I won't let you." she said slumping to the floor with Bailey.

"It's what's best for everyone." she breathed, her eyes opening and closing slowly.

"No, it's not!" Aiden screamed applying pressure to Bailey's self inflicted wounds, "I swear Bailey, if you die I will kill you!"

* * *

**_Thanks to Kennedy's Friday Night Delight, Alice Jericho for their reviews! And special thanks goes to TJ Sparkles, who absolutely ROCKS for being my beta!_**


	41. Anything For You

_**Thanks so very much to Pennie, Alice Jericho, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for reviewing last chapter! You rawk! **_

**_And Dee for making me LOL :)_**

* * *

"Great, we're delayed." Chris groaned looking up at the monitors.

"For how long?" Alex asked.

"At least a couple of hours, we may need to think about driving." Chris shrugged.

"I gotta go home, the security was just set off at the house. They're sending people there now." Alex rushed, snatching up his luggage.

"Maybe it was an accident…" Ajay proposed.

"The fucking panic mode was activated, that's not an accident, she didn't just forget the code." Alex said.

They could see the fear in his eyes as he scrambled to get his things.

"Do you need me to go with you?" Chris asked at a loss for what to do.

"I've got to GO! _NOW_!" Alex shouted.

Chris tossed him the keys, "Call us if you need us."

He knew it would be easier for Alex to go by himself.

"Fuck it." he growled dropping his luggage and sprinting for the doors.

"Try and call Aiden." Chris suggested, his own fear getting the best of him too.

He tried to tell Alex it was a bad idea to leave her by herself.

"No answer, it goes straight to voicemail. The home phone is busy…"Ajay relayed.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Joey asked fidgeting with his coat.

"Mommy and Daddy are just worried about Aiden and Lexie that's all." he said exchanging a glance with Ajay.

"Cause she's all alone? I don't like being alone either." he sympathized.

"She'll be fine. Alex is going to go and make sure they're both okay. Don't worry about it. Maybe they'll come with us." Ajay suggested, trying to take his mind off of any of the worst case scenarios.

* * *

Alex beat his hands on the steering wheel and let out a roar of frustration as he got behind some idiot who had apparently never driven in snow before. The first chance he got he floored it around the car flipping them off as he passed.

He had to get home, he had to make sure Aiden and Lexie were both okay. All he could think about was the worst. What if she was having trouble breathing again and barely got to hit the alert button before she stopped breathing completely. What if she had blacked out and fell down the stairs and was hurt? What if she had Lexie in her arms when that happened? What if something was wrong with the baby? He blew through stop signs and yellow lights in his haste, he would deal with any consequences later.

He fishtailed on a patch of ice as he was coming into his neighborhood. He turned left twice and stopped breathing completely when he saw an ambulance and two cop cars in front of his house. He slid to a stop in the road, nudging his mailbox. He barely threw it into park before he jumped out. He cursed loudly as he slipped on the frozen terrain.

"Aiden!" he screamed getting closer to the house.

Two burly policemen stopped him before he could reach the door, "We can't let you inside at the moment."

"Please, my wife…my daughter…" he gasped struggling.

He stopped, and his whole world stood still when he saw Bailey's car in the driveway.

"What happened?" he asked not sounding like himself at all.

"Our superior is in there now getting statements, we just showed up before you did to secure the area." the older cop said.

Alex finally could breathe again when he caught a glimpse of Aiden, she was holding Lexie from what he could see. He felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of him. The confusion set in when he saw Bailey being wheeled out on a stretcher. What the hell happened?

"Aiden?" he called out to her.

She went to him rushing into his arms with Lexie screaming. Aiden was in hysterics, which worried him even more because the doctor had specifically warned him to make sure she remained calm. He held her tightly shivering because she was so severely. He tried to hush Savannah who was also in near hysterics.

"Honey please tell me what happened." he pleaded.

"Just take her, she needs a bottle, I've got to go with Bailey." she whimpered.

He grabbed her bicep jerking her to a stop, "What happened?"

"She tried to commit suicide." she sobbed pulling away to hop into the ambulance before it took off.

Alex was floored by Aiden's words. Why in the world would Bailey do that? He had never known her to ever get that depressed or down about anything for her mind to ever wander there. She was always laughing and being sarcastic, she would never even think to do something like that. Or so it had seemed.

That's when the guilt began to attack him. He hadn't answered any of her calls, and neither had anyone else for that matter. She had been cut off completely by everyone at the same time. He had experienced that a time before during a rather foul breakup between him and Mollie. It wasn't fun at all and t had definitely taken its toll on him.

He went inside after he was cleared and made Lexie a bottle. He sat on the couch feeding her, his mind working mile a minute trying to figure out why Bailey would ever want to take her own life. It just killed him to think about it because Aiden had almost lost hers and now Bailey had made an attempt at her own.

His phone rang and he answered it quickly, "Hello?"

"Are Aiden and Lexie okay?" Chris asked, skipping his own greeting.

"Yeah, they're okay." he muttered.

"Thank God, we've been sitting here freaking out thinking something was wrong with them." Chris sighed, "Ajay, they're both okay."

Alex heard Ajay sigh with relief too.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know exactly, but Bailey's being taken to the hospital now because she tried to commit suicide." Alex relayed.

There was silence on the other line.

"As soon as I get done feeding Lexie I'm heading up there." he said looking down at Lexie's almost empty bottle.

"We'll meet you there." Chris whispered.

He was just as stunned as Alex had been. He was dreading having to make the necessary phone calls to Scott, Petey and Bailey's mom Carrie. He bundled his daughter up and headed out to the garage.

* * *

He was pulling into the hospital at the same time Chirrs and Ajay were. He met up with them at the door.

"I didn't want to come back here for a very long time." Alex mused.

"Especially not under these circumstances." Chris added as they all waked in to find where Bailey and Aiden were.

"Mrs. Williams is in surgery, Mrs. Martin is in room three thirty four." the receptionist smiled.

Alex took off to the elevator. Why was _Aiden_ in a room?

"I thought you said Cookie was okay?" Ajay accused.

Chris shook his head at her seeing how anxious Alex already was.

He burst through the door into the small recovery room. Aiden was sitting cross legged on the bed holding an oxygen mask to her face as she struggled to catch her breath. Amber, her nurse when she gave birth to Lexie, was standing beside her rubbing her back and whispering to her.

Alex felt like _he_ was going to need oxygen when he saw how upset Aiden was.

Amber smiled warmly, "She's fine. She just got too worked up."

Alex deflated like a balloon when he heard that.

"Sit here with her, and I'll go check the status on your friend." she instructed.

Alex handed Savannah to Chris and sat down beside Aiden. No one said anything for a solid ten minutes as Aiden struggled to calm down.

When she finally stopped gasping for air Alex looked at her, "What happened? When the hell did Bailey come over?"

Before she could speak Petey, Scott, and Carrie came into the room.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Scott asked.

"Not yet." Ajay said quietly getting up tot hug Petey's neck.

"How did this happen?" Carrie asked, tears in her eyes.

Everybody looked at Aiden. Her lip trembled as more tears welled up.

"After you left to go to Orlando she showed up and said she had been waiting for you to leave. We talked about how she felt like she didn't have anyone to turn to, that I had taken everything from her. She was really upset, even after I offered to help her. Then she volunteered to fix Lexie a bottle. When she didn't come back, I went to the kitchen and…" She broke down crying again.

Alex pulled her to him just as Amber knocked and came back in.

"Bailey is out of surgery, she got a transfusion and is awake." she said.

"Can we see her?" Carrie asked.

"She asked to speak to her husband first." Amber said.

All the color drained from his face. He wasn't expecting that at all. He handed Jayden to Scott to follow Amber to Bailey's room.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He was totally unsure of what to do. She looked like she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her.

"Petey?" she whispered, here eyes opening half way.

"I'm here." he croaked out.

She held her heavily bandaged arms out to him. He went to her and sat beside her. He leaned in to hug her tightly. All the anger he had felt toward her, all the animosity and resentment he had harbored was gone.

"Bailey I still love you. Why would you want to leave us?' he cried holding her face in his hands.

"I've done you so wrong though, I've done everybody wrong." she sobbed.

"That doesn't matter! I would have been lost without you, the kids would have been lost without you. God Bay, I don't know what I would have done without you."

They sat in each others arms crying, letting their emotions go.

"Why did it come to this? _How_?" Petey finally pulled back and asked.

Bailey dropped her eyes so ashamed of herself, "I have postpartum."

Petey narrowed his eyes, "But the twins are almost a year old."

"It wasn't very bad at first, just the 'baby blues' and it just developed into something else entirely." She cried.

"But how? Was it something I did or didn't do?" he asked.

He had to be able to understand what was going on to be able to help her recover.

Bailey shrugged her shoulders and wiped her eyes, "No, it was just my low self esteem coupled with the fact that I had convinced myself that I had to be with Alex to be happy. Then I had to take care of the kids all the time, you were always working and then when you would come home you would play with the kids and go to sleep…"

"So it _was _my fault then?" he asked, guilt hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"No, it wasn't." she protested.

"Yes it was. If I hadn't made you feel like shit all those years ago you wouldn't have felt the need to get all of that plastic surgery. If I would have been a better husband instead of worrying about being a bad father, you wouldn't have needed to think about Alex. I should have been there for you, I'm so sorry I wasn't. I was trying to be the father that I never had and I forgot about you." he argued, "Please let me make it up to you. Give me another chance Bay."

She shook her head looking up at the ceiling, "After everything I've said and done you're begging _me_ to take _you_ back? We've got some serious issues to work through."

"I'll do anything, counseling, anything to prevent you from feeling like this was your only option ever again." he said without hesitation.

Bailey cupped his face with her hand, all of the love for him she had forgotten or lost was returning with every second she looked at him. It had always been there it had just gotten lost amongst the bullshit she had used to try to convince herself that Alex was who she truly loved. She smiled weakly unable to recall a time Alex had ever looked at her the way Petey was looking at her now. The look of love, love in the simplest purest fashion. The way her children looked at her, that unrivaled, unparalleled look of love. There was no one else from him, she was his everything, she could read it all over his face in that moment. She had never truly grasped how deep his devotion for her was until then. She had always held onto the insecurities that had plagued her during her teenage years due to his torment of her. She could see then that it was a decoy, that he had been overwhelmed with how deeply and utterly in love he had fallen with her, and so quickly.

He blinked before leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. It was like her whole body sighed with relief. She was loved again, she felt it coursing through her.

He pressed his forehead to hers, "Whatever you need Bay, I don't care what it is I'll get it for you, I'll go with you, I'll do it for you, I'll support you, anything at all."

She smiled, genuinely smiled. For the first time in months it didn't feel fake, she didn't feel like her face was cracking into fragments revealing her hidden feelings below.

She took a deep breath hoping he understood what she was about to ask of him, "I need you to go get Alex for me."

* * *

_**ohhh...who can't wait for that convo? Let me know!**_


	42. Breakdown

_**Thanks to Alice Jericho and Kennedy for their reviews! You guys RAWK! **_

* * *

He kept his face calm. She didn't see his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He didn't flinch.

He leaned back to her and pressed another kiss to her forehead. He kept his eyes closed trying to combat the strong urge he had to question her request. He moved to leave and was almost to the door when she called his name making him turn around.

"I love you Petey, I mean that with all of my heart." she said feeling the need to assure him.

He blinked back tears, "I love you too Bay."

He intentionally walked slowly back to Aiden's room down the hall. Bailey seemed back to her normal self but he knew their relationship was still shaky at best. He opened the door and went inside.

"Petey? How was she?" three people asked at the same time.

He looked up searching the room for Alex. He was reclined back in the hospital bed with Aiden asleep on his chest.

"She wants to talk to you." he said sitting beside Ajay.

Alex didn't move, he didn't want to leave Aiden in her condition.

Chris stepped up to him, "I'll sit with her man, you go."

Alex debated, looking around the room at everyone's pleading faces. Why did it feel like everyone was relying on him to save Bailey from herself? Why did he feel that burden being placed upon him?

He and Chris switched places so he could go to his long time friend. He shuffled out of the room dreading the confrontation he was walking into. He went into Bailey's room and waited.

"Alex." she smiled.

He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. He wasn't prepared to deal with this situation again. Aiden had almost died, he dealt with the idea of living without her and thought that he would get the same sensation walking into Bailey's room seeing her alive and well.

All he felt was anger and pity.

"What's wrong?" she frowned moving to sit up some.

He scoffed sarcastically, "How can you sit there and smile at me Bay? Seriously?"

She felt the tears hit her eyes immediately, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? There's a whole fucking list of things for you to be sorry about. Sorry that you were dumb enough to attempt to take your own life, sorry that you scared the shit out of everybody, sorry that Aiden had another panic attack and had to be re-hospitalized, sorry that you're playing games with the only man that has ever loved you unconditionally? You know I gotta ask you if you would have been sorry had I had to tell our fucking daughter that Mommy decided to give up and that she's never going to get to see you again. I've had to think about that one too many fucking times this month." he said his voice barely below a yell.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He started pacing to keep himself form punching something. He had been able to keep it together all this time. He was due to have a blow up, and this moment seemed as good as any.

"Aiden had severe complications during labor. She went into a coma and I watched her take her last breath Bay. I saw her gasping for fucking air, and all I could think about was how was I going to tell Savannah? How was I going to raise her without Aiden there? She didn't have a choice, you did Bay." he was shouting at her tears falling freely down his face.

Bailey closed her eyes not wanting to see the broken, emotional man in front of her. When she thought she could handle it she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I don't feel sorry for you at all." he whispered, his voice catching with soft sobs, "You had everything and you didn't want it. I feel sorry for us because we couldn't been deprived of you. We would have had to live without you, you took the easy way out."

"Alex, I didn't know what else to do. Nobody was speaking to me. I was so depressed and it was stupid I know. If I could take it back I would." she cried.

He shook his head, "You can't."

There was a long pause as they sat in silence both sniffling quietly.

"You'll never know how thankful all of us are that you didn't succeed. You'll never know." he said breaking down again.

She couldn't stand to see him this way. He was the goofy, loveable jokester not the level headed, responsible one.

"Alex, please come here." she begged.

He went to her and fell into her arms. They didn't say anything as she held him while he finally had the emotional break down he had needed so badly.

She closed her eyes again letting her fingers tangle in his faxback remembering how much she loved it when he grew it out. He had always been her inconstant constant, her favorite Fairweather Johnson. He needed her for once and she knew she had to step up to the challenge or lose what was left of their friendship for ever.

"I can't keep doing this Bay. I just can't." he sighed still holding her tightly.

She waited for him to elaborate. He finally pulled away to look at her. His face was red and slick with tears, his eyes bloodshot. He looked exactly like he had when she and Ajay had gone to clean up for him at his house. He was suffering inside, everything was catching up to him.

"Fuck Bay…" he grated out.

"Just tell me." she urged.

"I love Aiden. I'm madly, head over heels, desperately in love with her and the life I know she can provide for me Savannah and Riley. I want that for us, but nobody gives us the chance to be happy." he finally admitted.

"I don't give you the chance at happiness." she corrected.

"Its not just you." he rolled his eyes.

"It was a statement, not a question. I have prevented your happiness intentionally most of the time." she confessed, "That sounds a lot worse out loud, but that's what I did. I didn't want you to change Lex."

"You understand that you're an important part of my life too though, regardless of who I'm with. You were my first a lot of things. But I'm not that seventeen year old guy anymore. I don't love you like I did back then anymore. I want to be with Aiden, and somewhere in my perfect world both of you would be able to co-exist. I could live happily ever after with her and you with Petey." he sighed.

"I want that too." she agreed softly.

He looked up at her then, "I shouldn't be made to feel guilty for falling in love with her. I'm sorry you and Mollie weren't 'The One' for me, but seriously what will it take for me to be able to provide that life for my family? Should we move and work out visitation with Riley? You tell me. I'm past fighting, Aiden and the baby are too fragile for that right now."

Bailey took his hands in hers, "You're not the one with the problems, I am and I'm so sorry for doing this to you and Aiden. I don't want you to move Riley would miss you too much."

"So then how do we start to fix things?" he asked.

She half smiled at him, "We've already started I think. Counseling is definitely in order."

His expression remained serious, "Whatever it takes to make this work I'm all for it. I'm happy with Aiden. I love her and Lexie to death. I love you and Riley too, but I don't want there to be anymore tension. I don't want to worry about you hurting yourself because of who I married. I don't want to worry about you hurting her because of that either."

She nodded, "Starting now I will do my very best to earn your friendship back and Aiden's too."

"I hope you mean that." He said managing a weak smile, "I kind of need to get back to her and Lexie."

"Go." she said.

He lingered staring at her for another moment before getting up to leave.

* * *

Petey was deep in thought beside Ajay, the soft even breathing of his son was serving as a backdrop.

Ajay nudged him lightly, "Are you okay Pan?"

"Sure." he answered quickly.

"Do you want to take a walk and talk about it?" she offered.

He shook his head no, "Is Aiden okay?"

Ajay smiled then. Petey always changed the subject when he didn't want to discuss a topic.

"They sedated her finally because she wouldn't calm down. They waited too long if you ask me." Ajay griped, glancing over at Chris who was holding her protectively.

"She's been through a lot, can't say I blame her for freaking out." Petey shrugged.

Alex cam back into the room looking like hell, "She wants to see both of you now."

Carrie and Scott hurried out of the room. He went to Aiden's bedside after checking on Lexie first. Chris moved so Alex could resume his position on the bed with Aiden.

"How did it go with Bailey?" Ajay wondered, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Not now Punk." Alex mumbled almost asleep already.

She exchanged a look with Chris and then with Petey. Alex was usually very easy to read. If he were mad about something he would throw a tantrum and get it out of his system. If he were happy you wouldn't be able to shut his big ass mouth up. Either way he never clammed up. He never just brushed something off.

"Must have been pretty bad." Chris muttered.

"Why do you say that?" Petey questioned.

"Have you ever seen Alex crash like that?" Ajay pointed out looking at him seemingly clinging to Aiden on the bed.

"I wish I could have known what happened between Bailey and Aiden at the house. What was said between the two of them. Poor Aiden was probably freaking out." Petey sympathized.

"I'm sure she was. First sight of blood and she's done." Chris said watching Joey and Riley color get-well cards.

Ajay laughed a little then, "She insisted on being with me when I needed stitches remember?"

"I've never seen somebody breathe into a paper bag so fast like that." Chris chuckled.

Petey smiled to himself then, "Who would have ever thought someone like her would end up with our crazy asses?"

Ajay leaned her head on Chris' shoulder, "I'm glad she did. You know for all of her efforts to blend in she definitely stands out among us."

"She needs a hoodie or two." Chris mused.

"Good luck with that. We would have to physically hold her down to get it on her and then hide all of her heels too." Ajay giggled.

"I'm just glad that I feel tall around someone for once. Even with her heels on I'm taller than her." Petey smirked.

"Aww, Midget Man." Ajay teased.

"Umm, I thought you said Bailey was in the hospital, not _her._" Mollie said sourly turning the corner to see Alex and Aiden asleep in each other's arms.

"Moll…"James drawled behind her.

"She's down the hall. I'll show you." Petey offered picking up the twins in their car seats.

"So I guess she's next huh?" Chris smarted off.

"Joshua Harter!" Ajay growled.

"What? I don't get it. Alex is happy with Aiden, what's the damn point of being like that? That's why Bailey's here now. She wouldn't let it go." He argued.

Ajay had to admire his loyalty to Alex and especially Aiden. The maddest she had ever seen him had been over her.

"You know Mollie though. She's as stubborn as she can be. Nothing anybody will ever say is going to change her mind unless she decides to do it herself." She sighed, "She could be happy with James if she wanted to be."

Chris mumbled a few choice words under his breath before coming to a conclusion, "This whole thing has been like the 'Final Destination" of relationships. First Aiden now Bailey, Mollie's got to be next dude."

"Let's go get some snacks Riley and Joey." Ajay suggested.

The kids dropped their crayons and jumped up excitedly.

"What?" he asked when Ajay didn't respond.

"Can Daddy come too?" Joey asked taking his mother's hand.

"No, he's in time out and has to look after the babies." Ajay quipped leading them out the door.

Chris pouted, he thought his description had been fairly accurate.

* * *

_**R.E.V.I.E.W. **_

**_xo~kthxbai~ox_**


	43. Giving Thanks

**_Happy Thanksgiving! _**

**_Thanks to Sarcastic Nightmare, Alice Jericho, and Kennedy's Friday Night Delight for reviewing :)_**

**_*also thanks to BourneBetter67 for letting me borrow Shirley and Joseph as Alex's parents names*_**

* * *

A few hours later Aiden finally woke up. She was disoriented at first but Alex was right by her side to assure her and calm her down.

"How is Bailey?" she asked feebly.

"She's going to make a full recovery thanks to you." Alex informed.

"Want to go with me to see her?" Ajay offered.

Aiden nodded her head an slowly got out of the bed.

Alex stopped them at the door, "Please don't let her get too upset. I don't want to have to stay overnight."

"I won't." Ajay assured him.

They went down the hall to Bailey's room surprised to see it empty.

"They went to get me something to eat, I'm starving." Bailey smiled.

Ajay went to her longtime friend and hugged her tightly, "I'm glad you're doing well."

"Thanks, so am I." she said.

Ajay started tearing up, "I'm really sorry I didn't answer your phone calls and for being mad at you."

Bailey held her hand, "Ajay this wasn't your fault. I made this decision. A really, really stupid one on my part."

"Don't ever do anything like this again. I don't know what I would do without you." Ajay sighed.

"No, I promise I won't. I should have never even thought about it." she assured.

"How are things with you and Petey?" Ajay asked.

Bailey smiled, "Getting better. I have to earn his trust back, I understand that, but it feels like when I first came back. It feels like the first time I saw him after all of those years apart."

"I'm so glad, and I know he is too. You're all he's ever wanted." Ajay said.

Bailey nodded and looked over at Aiden who was still standing by the door.

"I owe you my life Aiden. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." she said, her voice thick with emotion, "Do you know how much Alex loves you?"

She fidgeted, "I think so."

"He came to talk to me and he said that he's never loved anyone as much as he loves you. I knew that all along and it drove me crazy. He's never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. I'm sorry that I've been so jealous of your relationship. I'm sorry for trying to break you up. I should have been working to fix my relationship instead."

Aiden nodded, "Thank you for that Bailey, that means a lot."

"You make him so happy, and you treat our daughter like she's your own, I can't ask for anything else." she smiled.

Aiden was so relieved that they were finally mending their relationship.

Bailey frowned, "Alex also told me what happened when you were in labor."

Aiden dropped her eyes, she hated talking about that.

Bailey turned to Ajay, "Why didn't you tell me she was married to Alex and was pregnant? Surely you though about it, so she wouldn't have to deal all of that stress."

"I did think about it. I even told her I was going to tell you, but I just couldn't. She was so scared for anyone to find out, that I was afraid I would just make everything worse. I have a lot of regrets about the whole thing actually." she muttered.

"I told Alex that I was going to work very hard to earn your friendship back I truly mean it this time. No more games." she informed, hoping that Aiden believed her.

"That sounds really great actually." she smiled.

**

* * *

**

SIX MONTHS LATER

* * *

"Riley, do not climb on the back of the couch like that!" Bailey scolded.

Petey came into the kitchen where Bailey was hard at work preparing her portion of Thanksgiving dinner.

"She's so like Alex its scary." he laughed.

She gave him a knowing look, "I feel bad for Aiden. Could you imagine if they had a son?"

"I shudder at the though actually." he joked.

He watched her rush around the kitchen for a few moments, her short hair in a stylish ponytail, her apron smeared with various stains.

He stopped her as she was heading for the pantry, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

She tapped her finger against her chin, "Only a few times I think, but you can tell me again."

"I love you Bailey Rae." he whispered feathering a kiss against her lips.

"I love it when you do that." she smiled, kissing a trail down his jaw to his neck.

"What?" he groaned feeling her teeth take the sensitive skin.

"Give me butterflies, and make me want to disappear upstairs for awhile." she said.

He sighed deeply when the doorbell rang, "Remind me to un-install that thing."

She laughed as she went to the door.

"Thank goodness! I have help!" she smiled giving Ajay a hug.

"Who are you kidding? Just because I'm married to Chris and friends with Aiden doesn't' mean their culinary skills have rubbed off on me." Ajay said skeptically.

"Don't look at me, I'm on day care duty." Chris grinned, slipping past the girls.

"Jerk." Bailey joked as they went back to the kitchen.

"We're going to have a full house aren't we?" Ajay asked counting the people in her head.

"As usual, but its so much fun." Bailey said.

Ajay hugged her again, "I'm so glad everything is back to normal between us. This is going to be the best holiday season ever.

"We'll have to see about that. Aiden's meeting Alex's parents for the first time today." she reminded.

Ajay covered her mouth, "I forgot! His dad's no problem, its his mom that I'm worried about."

Bailey nodded, "I still cannot believe that Alex never let them meet her, especially after he married her and they had Lexie."

"I got bitched out for over an hour for it thank you." Alex said smartly, coming into the kitchen with his hands full.

"Awww, you poor wittle baby." Ajay cooed, pinching his cheeks.

"Get off me you dork. I have three thousand more things to unload from the car." he said.

He kissed both of their cheeks on the way out.

"There's my baby angel! Come to your Auntie Ajay." she greeted Lexie as Aiden came in with the baby in her arms.

She squealed loudly and practically jumped from her mother's arms.

"Such a little drama queen." Aiden laughed hanging up her coat and getting to work immediately.

Ajay winked at Bailey who had motioned to Aiden. They watched her put serving spoons in each dish that was brought in, start coffee, begin working on Bailey's unfinished dishes, on top of tidying up the kitchen.

Finally, Bailey stopped her, "Calm. Down. You have nothing to worry about. His parents are going to love you and Lexie, trust me."

"Maybe this dress is too short, and what if I dressed Lexie too flashy? She's their granddaughter…that they're just meeting for the first time, but I just couldn't' say no to that little Burberry outfit. And what if they don't like my cooking and think that I'm not going to take care of their son?"

Bailey and Ajay laughed and hugged her.

"We'll beat them up if they think that." Ajay teased.

"Get over there Mollie! I had a dream about this happening just the other day." James exclaimed.

"That's all it will ever be….a dream. Anyways, what'd I miss?" she frowned.

"Joseph and Shirley are finally going to meet Aiden and Lexie today." Ajay said handing Lexie over to Mollie.

Aiden couldn't deny how good Mollie was with her daughter, and had slowly warmed up to allowing that relationship to develop.

Mollie scoffed, "Good luck with that. His mom hated me, but then again I didn't provide her with another adorable grandchild."

"Negative followed by a positive…I can deal with that." Aiden breathed deeply.

* * *

Another half hour passed as they boys played with the kids and the girls put the finishing touches on the Thanksgiving spread. Bailey's mom and uncle along with Petey's parents and Ajay's Gran had all shown up. They were waiting on Alex' parents who were delayed due to traffic.

"Babe, quit tapping your finger, you'll be okay." Alex assured.

She sighed and downed the rest of her wine and poured another.

He kissed her nose, "you so cute when you're antsy."

"Shut up." she frowned.

"Grandma! Grandpa" They heard Riley yell.

"They're here, just relax." he grinned kissing her again.

He took her hand and led her to the crowded living room.

"Where's Patrick?" Shirley asked pulling back from hugging Bailey.

"Hey Mom, Dad." Alex called stepping further into the room, pulling Aiden behind him.

Ajay and Chris gave her secret thumbs up, making her blush scarlet.

"Wow, you must be Aiden. Its so nice to finally meet you." Joseph said smiling warmly.

"Nice to meet you too." Aiden said shyly, shaking his hand.

"Mom, this is Aiden." Alex introduced.

Shirley looked Aiden up and down trying to find a flaw.

She finally gave up, "Well at least she's pretty."

Alex scoffed, "And this is our daughter Savannah Alexis Martin but we just call her Lexie."

His parents eyes shifted to the little girl in his arms who was shyly ducking her face into his chest.

Shirley covered her mouth, "She's beautiful Patrick."

He grinned proudly at his child, "Stop being so shy angel, they're your grandparents."

She turned slightly to face them more, her dark amber eyes looking between them. She leaned out reaching for Aiden after a moment.

"She's a little shy at first." she apologized to them cradling Lexie to her.

"Well she doesn't get that from Patrick." Shirley sniffed, "Riley has always been outgoing."

Aiden deflated a little bit at her comment.

"I think its normal for a baby to be a little shy. She's not even a year old yet. It makes her as interesting as she is pretty." Joseph spoke up.

Alex kissed Aiden's temple for reassurance.

"Well, lets eat." Bailey suggested ending the awkward silence in the room

Chris, Ajay, Mollie, and James sat in the living room with the kids, while the rest of them sat in the dining room.

"She's a tiny little thing." Shirley commented watching Aiden feed Lexie small spoonfuls of mashed up sweet potato, "Did you breast feed her?"

Aiden swallowed nervously, "Um…no, I didn't get the chance to."

"Because of the complications, remember Mom." Alex said, his voice stern.

A warning to her to tread carefully around that subject.

"I remember, I was making an observation. She seems to take after Aiden more than you. I suppose I'm just used to Riley being your mini me." she remarked, "She is very cute though."

Lexie held up a green bean to Alex who leaned over and gobbled it out of her hand. She squealed and laughed making everyone smile.

"Can I have a kiss?" Alex asked.

She puckered her lips and pecked his, scrunching her nose afterwards.

"As you can see, he's a wonderful father." Aiden beamed.

"It's nice to see this side of Pat." Joseph grinned.

They finished dinner finally after all of the guys had completely stuffed themselves.

"That was a fabulous meal, Bailey, even better than last years." Shirley smiled sipping the coffee that Aiden had poured for her.

"Thank Aiden for that. She's the master chef that perfected everything." Bailey said.

Shirley was shocked as she looked at the tiny woman.

"SHE cooked?" she exclaimed.

Aiden smiled as she sat down beside Alex.

"Well we don't have to worry about him starving to now do we?" Joseph winked.

Despite her initial aversion to her son's wife, she did seem o have her ducks in a row. She was much more well mannered than Alex's previous dates, not to mention much better dressed. Shirley was shocked at how quickly Aiden had won her over. It was no wonder why Alex had progressed their relationship so quickly. She had raised him well enough to not let a good thing slip away.

She smiled covertly as she watched the happy couple, "Both of you seem to be doing an excellent job raising Lexie."

Alex exchanged a surprised look at his father, "Thanks Mom."

"I expect at least two more you know." she added casually sipping her coffee.

Alex choked on his, "Wow, uh…we haven't really discussed more kids. Lexie was a surprise and I don't want to risk her health again."

She waved her son off, "Don't be silly, I know one of the best doctors in Michigan, and he owes me a favor."

"Thank you, we may take you up on your offer in a couple of years." Aiden smiled politely.

Shirley nodded smugly at Alex.

"Aiden what are your parents like?" Joseph interceded, seeing Alex about to argue.

"My dad, Daniel, owns a construction company and is a game warden for fun. My mother, Caroline, stays at home and is an undercover interior decorator. She and my Nana belong to practically all the clubs, boards, societies, and sororities in Savannah."

"How nice." Shirley beamed.

Alex smirked, his mom was totally coming around.

Mollie came into the dining room bouncing Lexie on her hip, "You should plan a trip down there. I heard its gorgeous."

Aiden blanched.

"Oh, that would be so nice! We could meet your parents finally and tell them what a sweet daughter in law you are." she smiled, "Your father and I would love to take a mini vacation. This is so exciting."

"Yes, thank you for the idea Mollie." Aiden replied sarcastically.

"No problem." she smiled going back into the living room.

Aiden could just picture Alex's parents pulling up and Shirley being outraged by all of the dogs and Spike. Or her father antagonizing "Alan" as he still refused to call Alex by his name. Or Nana spiking their drinks to get them to loosen up. As much as Aiden adored her family, she knew they weren't for everyone.

Alex shared her fears, he couldn't picture his mom adjusting easily to Aiden's way of life. He could postpone I easily, for now he was going to sit back and enjoy his wonderful family. He looked around at all of the smiling familiar faces and was truly happy.

He leaned in close to Aiden kissing her deeply.

"I have a lot to be thankful for. I've never really realized it until now. All of my friends and family, my career, but none of that is more important than my tow girls and my gorgeous wife. Every time I look at you I realize how luck I am, and I wanted to tell you thank you for going through everything you did for our daughter. She's beautiful and has really got me wrapped around her little Versace finger."

She laughed wiping happy tears from her eyes.

He looked at her with a smile, "I love you Aiden Martin, more than any championship belt I'll ever win."

"I love you too Alex Shelley, more than any vintage designer anything I'll ever find or buy." she grinned.

He stared at her for a moment a sly smirk on his handsome face, "What do you think about not waiting several years to have another baby?"

Her eyes lit up, "That would be perfect."

* * *

**_This is sadly the end of this story...for now. _**

**_Hope ya'll enjoyed it and thanks for sticking with me :)_**


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